GOP Congressman And House Democratic Leader Team Up To Prepare For Federal Marijuana Legalization With Alcohol-Like Regulations
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A GOP congressman and the top House Democrat are teaming up on a new bill to lay the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization.
On the same day he announced the refiling of a separate bipartisan measure to end federal prohibition in states that have legalized cannabis, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) has again introduced the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act.
The legislation is also being sponsored by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who has worked with Joyce on earlier versions of the bill in past sessions.
The incremental reform would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what’s currently in place for alcohol.
“Currently, nearly all 50 states have legalized or enacted cannabis to some degree, bringing us closer to the inevitable end to federal cannabis prohibition,” Joyce said in a press release on Thursday. “Recognizing this reality, the PREPARE Act delivers a bipartisan plan.”
“With this legislation, Congress would be equipped to develop a much-needed federal regulatory framework that not only respects the unique needs, rights, and laws of each state, but also ensures a responsible end to prohibition and a safer future for our communities,” he said.
The legislation largely resembles an earlier version introduced last session, with several largely technical changes.
One substantive from the last version is that the proposed cannabis commission would now include representatives of the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor and Treasury, as well as the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Office of Minority Health and Indian Health Service.
Language was also added to clarify that two commission members who’ve overseen the development of “two successful, separate, and unique State-level regulatory systems” must have served on state cannabis control commissions. Such commissions are newly defined as “any State commission, bureau, board, department, office, agency, division, or authority responsible for the regulation of the State’s legal medical and recreational cannabis program.”
The prospects of marijuana legislation advancing in the Republican-controlled Congress this session remain unclear, but certain members have expressed confidence that modest reform could be achievable on a bipartisan basis. The PREPARE Act could represent an area of agreement to that end.
“Since the failed war on drugs began more than 50 years ago, the prohibition of marijuana has ruined lives, families and communities, particularly communities of color,” Jeffries said. “The PREPARE Act is one of the bipartisan solutions that will lay the groundwork to finally right these wrongs in a way that advances public safety and boosts our economy.”
“I am grateful to Congressman Joyce for reintroducing this important bill and his leadership to help the United States be ready for the inevitable end to cannabis prohibition,” he said.
Here’s what the PREPARE Act would accomplish:
- Require the attorney general to establish a “Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis” within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
- The commission would be responsible for studying federal and state regulatory models for alcohol and make recommendations about how they could inform marijuana regulations.
- Among other things, the commission’s report must look at the impact of marijuana criminalization, particularly as it concerns minority, low-income and veteran communities.
- The panel would also examine the “lack of consistent regulations for cannabis product safety, use and labeling requirements,” including those related to youth safety, as well as the “lack of guidance for cannabis crop production, sale, intrastate, interstate, and international trade.“
- It would also need to make recommendations on how to remedy cannabis-related banking and research barriers as well as address measures to ensure the “successful coexistence of individual hemp and cannabis industries, including prevention of cross pollination of cannabis and hemp products.”
- Members would further be mandated to study and make recommendations on “efficient cannabis revenue reporting and collecting, including efficient and tenable federal revenue frameworks.”
- The panel would be required to issue a report to Congress within 12 months.
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) is also an initial cosponsor of the bill.
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This bill introduction comes on the same day that Joyce and other bipartisan lawmakers announced the filing of the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) 2.0 Act. That legislation would end federal marijuana prohibition in states that have legalized it, while providing for a basic federal regulatory framework for cannabis products.
The measure’s filing followed the release of a new survey from a GOP pollster affiliated with President Donald Trump that found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms—and, notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.
The STATES 2.0 Act would additionally legalize interstate cannabis commerce, normalize Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policy for the industry and contemplate a federal tax-and-regulate framework for the industry.
Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson recently told CNN that the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump also endorsed on the campaign trail last year.
The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.
Former officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also recently said that, without proactive advocacy for marijuana rescheduling from Trump personally, the process could stall indefinitely.
Read the text of the PREPARE Act below:
New Hampshire Senate Kills Bills That Would Have Legalized Marijuana And Allowed Home Cultivation Of Medical Cannabis
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