federal deanonymization of marijuana – Orange County Register

“Legal marijuana is coming, it’s just around the corner!”

How many times have you heard some form of this saying?

While the current iteration of Congress has attempted to pass Cannabis reform legislation in various forms, little outside of lip service has been done. From the MORE Act, the SECURE Banking Act, and the most recently introduced draft of the CAOA, there has been a flurry of activity, but nothing to show for it.

However, that could soon change. On February 4, 2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer publicly announced that he and his team are prioritizing federal marijuana reform on the Senate floor in the coming months, with a goal of May 4 year 2022.

It should be distinguished that Schumer’s plan does not call for legalizing marijuana at the federal level, but it does call for federalization of marijuana, which would be a step in the right direction and potentially easier to attract attention. bipartisan support needed. to get over it.

On average, enforcement of current marijuana possession laws costs taxpayers $3.6 billion a year, but there’s been no decline in the plant’s use, popularity, or availability. Not to mention the disparate impact of marijuana laws on people of color, with blacks 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than whites. This is not new news, we have known failed efforts in the war on drugs for years, but now it seems Congress is ready to at least begin to correct the mistake.

But we’ve heard this before, so why should we believe Schumer and his cohort now? Critics will be quick to point out that Schumer opposes the SECURE Banking Act of 2021 despite massive bipartisan support and a broad aisle in the House. At first glance, this behavior by Schumer may seem counterintuitive to his current rhetoric, but there are several key differences that set this new announcement apart from bills that have previously passed the House only to be overturned. in the Senate.

Unlike the SAFE Banking Act, which only deals with banking for state legal marijuana dispensaries and was recently passed for the sixth time by the House, this time as an amendment to With America’s COMPETITION Act, Schumer’s new proposal would address banking as well as other problems caused by existing law around the sale, use, and possession of marijuana.

Schumer has profiled that he does not want to patch up marijuana reform, and instead believes that the proposal by Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, the CAOA would be the best option to address them all. concerns surrounding cannabis laws. Whether based on legitimate concerns or simply ego to claim to be the catalyst of cannabis reform, he has something on his mind.

The United States first made marijuana illegal in 1937 and since then it has been nothing but a downward spiral to demonize a largely under-status and misunderstood drug. By passing bills that only address the minor issues surrounding cannabis laws, we risk becoming complacent in passing reforms that address the greater harms of illegal behaviour, such as convictions for nonviolent criminals, drug cartels, and unregulated black market production.