“Public Health and Public Safety Demand that the Federal Government Regulate the Cannabis Market.”
By Francis Creighton of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America
We have a wide range of options in the United States for beverage alcohol. Consumers can make their choices with confidence, knowing that they will be drinking a beverage free from illicit or harmful ingredients.
Cannabis users are not protected by the same testing and regulations that protect American drinkers of alcohol. The federal government continues classifying cannabis as a Schedule I substance, the same as heroin. This creates a conflict between federal and state law.
It is a fact that adult-use marijuana legalization is here to remain, but American consumers do not have the regulatory protections they need.
In the end, consumers are at serious risk of health and safety due to conflicting federal and state laws. The federal government must: license producers and testing facilities, ensure product integrity, establish appropriate tax and trade practices requirements, and protect public health. States should have the ability to customize additional requirements according to local needs.
This conflict creates an unstable market without clarity in the law regarding interstate sales, as well as significant issues for law enforcement, regulators, and citizens of neighboring states who have not legalized.
After nearly a hundred years of distributing socially-sensitive products, America’s small family-owned wineries and spirits wholesalers know that the complementary regulatory structures of state and federal governments have enabled them to achieve product diversity, consumer trust, competition in the marketplace, and efficient and effective tax collection. This balance ensures that the law is clear, enforcement actions are effective, and bad actors face serious consequences.
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s (WSWA’s) newly revised principles for comprehensive federal legalization and oversight of the Adult Use Cannabis Supply Chain outlines the four pillars of responsible and safe federal regulation of cannabis based on nearly a hundred years of lessons learned in the world’s most diverse, competitive and vibrant beverage alcohol market.
Pillars of WSWA for Safe & Responsible Federal Cannabis Regulation
1. Cannabis producers, importers and distributors must be licensed by the federal government. 2. Cannabis products are regulated and approved by the federal government.
3. Effective and efficient collection of federal excise taxes;
4. Public safety is ensured by effective measures.
WSWA believes that the legalization process should be comprehensive, and not incremental. Regulation of cannabis piecemeal, such as by addressing banking issues or tax deductions, will amount to federal legalization de facto without adequately protecting communities or consumers. Americans will be at risk if these pillars are not addressed comprehensively. They may miss critical safety standards or continue to operate unregulated markets. This could impact everything from funding impaired driving research, enforcement training and rules that ensure fair competition and transparency for customers.
Bottom line, public health and safety require that the federal government regulates the cannabis market. Congress should study the U.S. market for alcohol and learn from it. It is the safest, most vibrant and socially-sensitive marketplace in the world.
Francis Creighton, President and CEO of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.
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