Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, may be retiring by the end of the current Congress but he still has boxes to tick off a ambitious agenda to reform federal cannabis laws prior to his final bicycle ride from Capitol Hill.
Oregon’s congressman, a co-founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, who has been a staunch advocate of marijuana legalization for decades, wants to make the most of his final 14 months as he leaves office. He believes that bipartisan cannabis banking reform remains in play and is hopeful that the Biden Administration will take bold action to end marijuana criminalization.
Blumenauer said in a telephone interview with Marijuana Moment on Thursday that “this can be done administratively.” If I was Joe Biden, and wanted to make amends with young voters — especially young voters of colour — for having been on the wrong side in the failed drug war, this would be the way to do it.
The congressman has been working on this issue for more than 50 year, even during the decades he did not have widespread public support and a strong state legalization movement supporting his advocacy. In 1973, when he was an Oregon legislator and helped decriminalize pot, only about 20 percent supported legalization. A new Gallup survey shows that support for legalization has reached a record high of 70 percent as of this year.
Blumenauer: “We are not yet at the ceiling.” “We won’t be able to get more money until it is unanimous.”
As with other issues, however, the public’s support for a particular issue hasn’t always translated into laws that are responsive. In recent sessions, the House passed two comprehensive legalization bills. However, prohibition continues.
Some legislators continue to hold the outdated belief that marijuana has no medical value and is a drug with a high abuse potential. Some lawmakers have based their “no’ votes on disagreements over the specifics of reform proposals. Some people do not see cannabis policy as an urgent issue that requires the type of legislative attention that advocates like Blumenauer and legislators have demanded for years.
He thought that the issue would be more advanced by now. However, he is not discouraged by incrementalism. He looks back with pride on the path that he and his colleagues helped to chart. All of this is part of his plan – an “blueprint” for legalization that he drafted years ago, which takes into consideration the sobering realities of Congress.
But Blumenauer isn’t all zen. He is frustrated that the House has not passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE), which he and fellow Cannabis Caucus Co-chair Rep. Dave Joyce, R-OH, are sponsoring in this session.
He said: “I’m convinced that it wouldn’t have just passed the Senate, but that it would also have helped us to move forward a wider agenda.” “It’s frustrating because I was so close and there’s a group of people that care deeply about this.” I would have loved to see that translate into more progress at the Senate.
Blumenauer still sees a path for reform, even with a href=”https://www.marijuanamoment.net/newly-elected-gop-housespeaker voted against… Blumenauer sees the path to reform even after anticannabimpre Mike Johnson (R – LA) was elected speaker in the last month.
Blumenauer is not backing down on marijuana policy, no matter what happens. This includes after he decides to move on to greener pastures.
He said, “I’m not going to give up and I won’t stop fighting until I reach my goals.”
This interview has been edited to make it shorter and more concise.
Ohio is the 24th state in the nation to have legalized marijuana, which means that more than half the population of the United States now lives within a state where prohibition has been abolished. What is the message that you believe this should send to both Democrats and Republicans?
Rep. Earl Blumenauer: The vote in Ohio felt like a big exclamation mark on what we have been discussing. Since years, we’ve said that this issue is gaining momentum and has a broad appeal. This is similar to the success of the [Ohio] abortion rights issue, except that this was more pronounced. We received more votes than on the abortion issue. We got more votes than anyone else on the ballot.
It is important to reiterate the point we made: this issue is extremely popular in the entire country. This is a cause that no one has paid for. For example, [Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA] wouldn’t be in the U.S. Senate if he had not been an outspoken advocate of cannabis legalization years before his Senate elections. It’s a fact that I can’t deny.
We’re trying our best to convey to the Senate and the Administration that cannabis helped them gain the majority, and it has the potential to make Joe Biden’s election a lot easier.
MM: Ohio voted one day before Gallup published a national poll that showed a 70 percent support rate for legalization. Do you believe there is a limit to the support for this issue?
EB : If it is unanimous, then we will not get more. We haven’t yet reached the ceiling. Even though there was a temporary plateau we saw other improvements. This is a powerful demonstration that the program continues to grow and has a positive impact on people across the country.
The number of states supporting legalization is staggering. No matter how much the scheming politicians of the Ohio state legislator tried to game the system, they just couldn’t. The voters saw right through it and it ended up being a huge success.
You’ll likely leave Congress before federal marijuana legalization. What do you think about that? How does this affect your future plans?
EB This is an area that I have been working on for 50 years. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than ending the failed drug war. The progress from the first successful decriminalization legislation [in Oregon] in 1973 has been slower than I expected. I thought that the road would be smoother and quicker. There have been a few bumps along the way. I couldn’t have imagined the war on drug, such as “Just Say No”. But we’ve been remarkably resilient.
The progress has been consistent, especially over the past 23 years. The strength of the Ohio election continues to amaze me. It’s not that it passed, but it passed so overwhelmingly despite the legislative attempts to manipulate it. It is a great source of satisfaction.
I won’t give up. This is an important part of my professional career. This is a very important legacy issue for me. It has made a big difference in the lives of millions of people across the country. We’ve made progress, but there is still more to do.
It is important that we fully integrate this into the American Healthcare System. We could make people safer and healthier if we allowed the VA, Medicare and Medicaid to prescribe medical cannabis and pay for it. We would also save hundreds of millions of dollars. I won’t give up until I reach my targets.
MM: Do you consider joining the board of a advocacy group or advising stakeholders in your industry, for instance? You could even run for another political office.
EB : I’m wrapping up this term. I have 14 months left, and I believe we can still make more progress in this Congress. We can achieve SAFE Banking and the Biden Administration rescheduling if we do our work correctly. Scheduled III may not be the panacea I was hoping for, but it will solve [IRS code] 28E and allow cannabis companies to reduce their tax burden by half or even a third. We can do these things.
But I’m not giving up hope that the Biden Administration will do a full decriminalization at the 11th hour. This can be accomplished administratively. If I was Joe Biden, and wanted to make amends with young voters – especially young voters of colour – for having been on the wrong side in the failed drug war, this is what I would do. I’ve said before that I haven’t given up. I’m not betting, but I will continue to remind the public of this.
This would be the thing I would do to revitalize Biden’s administration, especially among young people and people of color. It will have a profound effect, and is the right thing.
MM: The president seems to understand the popularity of the issue. He has repeatedly praised his directive on scheduling and pardoning marijuana in mass.
EB : I have been talking to them about this for several months. Every time we have a chance, I remind them that if marijuana had not been on the ballot, Joe Biden would not have won Arizona in 2020. This was the key factor in his success. They wouldn’t be in control of the Senate or Fetterman if cannabis voters weren’t there.
Do you feel, based on your conversations with White House officials, that the administration is aware of the potential benefits that reforming marijuana could bring, and also the risks that might be associated with, for example, merely rescheduling it?
EB : There is a growing awareness. Although I am not a very good politician, and some of this stuff is way above my pay grade, I have always been firm about the importance of this issue for America. I’ve not been afraid to point out that Democrats and Joe Biden would benefit greatly from being more aggressive in this area.
MM: Advocates and stakeholders are wondering who will take up the mantle and continue to champion this issue in Congress as you have done over the course of your tenure. Has that ever crossed your mind?
EB My goal is to continue the legacy of Cannabis Caucus and find new people to take part. I’m preparing a memo of exit that explains the history. We wrote the blueprint for our future in 2014. This still reads well. It’s the 10th anniversary soon, so I plan to use this–it might be slightly annotated–and give it to as many members who will listen.
Since well over a decade ago, I’ve given a letter to every new member of Congress that contains things I wish someone had told my family and me when I was first elected [to Congress]. Helpful hints. Well, I’m going to make a refined copy of my path forward to use as something I give to everyone moving forward. I hope there will be some people who pick it up and want to run with it.
I believe there are many people who care. The more people who care, the better. I’m happy to have had a major role in the project, but it’s not necessary to have just one person or even two. We want several dozen people to play key roles. There’s room in this issue for everyone who wants to take part.
What are some of the moments that you’re most proud of as a result of your work in Congress advocating for cannabis? What are you most disappointed in?
EB Our biggest disappointment was our inability to get SAFE Banking across the finish line in the Senate, after we had passed it seven times in the House. I’m convinced that it would not only have passed but that it would also have helped us to move a wider agenda. This is frustrating to me, because we were so near and there’s a wonderful group of people that care about it. I would have loved to see more progress made in the Senate. Now that I have said that, I am pleased that the Senate has turned around. But we lost two years that were problematic.
It’s not a singular moment, but a series, of people getting involved, stepping forward, and broadening support. It’s been overwhelming at times to hear these stories and watch the momentum grow. We’re still not there. These are all important steps to building the foundation of our future success. I believe it will happen sooner than later.
What do you think the future of psychedelics will look like on Capitol Hill over the next few years? Do you think that the Republican interest in this issue could lead to a bipartisan approach similar to the one we saw in the early cannabis policy reform movement?
EB It’s not necessary to be bipartisan in our work on psilocybin and other psychedelics. It’s amazing what can be achieved when the right therapy is used. I’m very proud of the Oregon approach. The approach has been very careful, it hasn’t caused a partisan backlash and the people are beginning to see results.
This is becoming mainstream. The power of psilocybin to help conditions of addiction which defy conventional therapy is extraordinary. So I’m confident we will reach our goal and, if we work hard, we can build a consensus that is non-partisan and help move legislation forward.
Do you think there is a way forward in this session for the marijuana banking legislation? There’s been recent talk about potential horse trading to get the bill advanced in exchange for passing cryptocurrency-related legislation from the House, for example.
EB We don’t need to be so transactional and include other issues. The merits of the SAFE Banking Act speak for themselves. It’s also interesting to see the size of the coalition. There are people from credit unions, banks, property management companies, and gardeners in the coalition. This is a large group of people who have been negatively affected by our insanity of denying a new industry financial services.
Legalizing banking relationships will have a profound impact on the economy of communities all over the country. It’s also a sign that the legislative process is working.
How much do you believe the new Speaker could be an obstacle, given his anti-cannabis voting history?
EB Here’s the guy who doesn’t seem to have a bank. I don’t really know how important his bank account is to him. This is not a problem that will be solved by the Johnson Speakership. He was elected because the Republican caucus had given up. They just didn’t want to fight another round, or have very destructive election results. He’s affable. People like him. When it comes to the issues, he’s a bit of a mystery. I have the impression that he is reasonably intelligent. I don’t really know. I haven’t worked with him directly.
He doesn’t need to do anything about it. Stay out of his way. I’d think he had bigger fish to fry. There will be a government shutdown next week, next month or next month after that. He doesn’t deserve this kind of pain. He could take credit for this bipartisan victory, or at the very least for not stopping.
The American Banking Association, credit unions, and realtors are all firmly embedded within the current economy. This makes perfect sense, just as our research agenda makes perfect sense for us to be able hire high school graduates with six-figure incomes who are too often denied access due to failed drug tests. They are all aligned. They are ready to move on. They are viewed positively by others. It doesn’t seem to violate any fundamental principles, at least not for Johnson or the others.
We’re winning cohorts. We are winning supporters. It’s a topic that has not only come of age, but is also past its prime in many ways.
A Study Shows That States Legalizing Marijuana Have A ‘Significantly Lower’ Rate Of Cannabis Use Disorder Cases In Emergency Rooms Than States Without Legalization
Photo by the House of Representatives.
The post Congressman Blumenauer on Ohio Marijuana Legalization and Biden’s Opportunity To ‘Atone For Drug War Record and Advocacy in Retirement first appeared on Marijuana Minute.
