MJ moment

Marijuana advocates have been waiting anxiously for this day: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) have released their draft bill to federally legalize marijuana. Beyond ending the decades-long prohibition on cannabis, the legislation contains a litany of other provisions to promote social equity, facilitate research and repair the harms of criminalization. The three senators are unveiling the 163-page bill at a press conference on Wednesday. Watch the conversation about the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act in the video below:  The main features of the legislation largely align with what advocates and stakeholders expected. It would federally deschedule cannabis, expunge prior convictions, allow people to petition for resentencing, maintain the authority of states to set their own marijuana policies and remove collateral consequences like immigration-related penalties for people who've been criminalized over the plant. The bill would also impose a federal tax on marijuana products and put some of that revenue toward grant programs meant to support people from communities most impacted by prohibition who want to participate in the industry. Further, the legislation would transfer regulatory authority over cannabis from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Many more details on the bill are summarized in Marijuana Moment's analysis published earlier on Wednesday. The sponsors still want public feedback on the proposal. For example, they're especially interested in hearing about measuring cannabis potency, coordinating federal and state law enforcement responsibilities and balancing efforts to reduce barriers to entry to the marijuana industry while mitigating the influence of illicit cannabis operators. Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments on these and other issues…

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Source : Watch Live: Long-Anticipated Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill Unveiled By Schumer, Wyden And Booker

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