“The struggle for cannabis freedom will continue, and given the divided nature in Congress, it will take a long time.”
By Justin Strekal Founder of BOWL PAC
Cannabis advocates and industry representatives will probably make jokes on the Fourth of July about how they are celebrating freedom while watching fireworks light up the sky. It is still illegal for federal law to smoke a joint.
The rest of July is the first opportunity that reformers have to mark up a Senate bill on marijuana policy reform.
Marijuana Moment readers are probably already familiar with the current state of affairs, but here are a few key points to remember before Congress returns to session on 17 July:
- The marijuana prohibition law has been in place for more than 80 years, and it was enacted with explicit racist motives.
- Cannabis has only been’state-legalized’ for less than 30 years.
- Since marijuana became a controlled substance, it has been handcuffed by over 25 million Americans for marijuana-related crimes.
- The agreement was ready to pass before being blocked by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The agreement had been ready to pass when it was blocked by Mitch McConnell, R-KY.
Over the past few months, advocates and industry interest have been arguing and lobbying Congress on when and how to advance SAFE-Plus. Here are a few of the things that are being pushed in regards to the compromise agreement.
- The industry is lobbying for the SAFE Banking Act (Safe Banking Act) to be expanded to allow American cannabis firms to “uplist” and trade their companies on stock exchanges.
- Criminal justice reformers have pushed for a dramatic expansion of the HOPE Act, which would provide state and local governments with more resources to help cover the costs of expunging criminal records relating to cannabis.
- Equity advocates have identified an area of silence that could be devastating in the SAFE Banking Act. This would allow banks continue to discriminate entrepreneurs with prior cannabis convictions based on existing “red flag laws”. This is in direct contradiction to state programs such as those in New York, which are designed to support individuals affected to become owners in the emerging licensed marijuana industry.
A long-running joke is told in Washington, D.C. that if everyone disagrees with a compromise, it’s probably a goodcompromise.
It can seem absurd to me as one of the more than 70 percent of Americans that support legalizing cannabis that Congress still talks about narrow reforms such as a safe harbour for bankers to enter into business relationships with distributors who distribute a Schedule 1 drug, rather than addressing the reality that the majority of Americans reside in states where marijuana is legal.
I believe that it is now time for the industry, the advocates and all other interested parties, to unite and win the SAFE Plus agreement.
After literally thousands of conversations with Congress offices about the package in the last 18-months, I only listed one proposed change to the bill. This is the only one that could maintain bipartisanship to reach 60 senators and 218 members in the House. This is the tweak that would address prior cannabis convictions. You may not be aware of this effort. I suggest that you read former Los Angeles, California Cannabis regulator Cat Packer’s testimonies from her recent Senate hearings on SAFE Banking.
Due to the divided nature in Congress, this fight will last a long time. If the Senate fails to advance this compromise package quickly before the August recess then we won’t have the luxury to seriously debate how to achieve any reform in Congress until after the next year’s election.
The combination of a narrow criminal-justice reform and industry reform has been tempered, is balanced, and most importantly, is ready to be law.
Justin Strekal was the founder of Better Organizing to Win Legalization (BOWL PAC) and BOWL PAC. He has more than a decade’s worth of experience in campaigning and legislation. Prior to this, he spent five years as NORML’s political director and lobbyist. Strekal is a supporter of Marijuana Moment and has pledged a per month on Patreon. )
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The article Declaring independence from Congressional inaction on Marijuana (OpEd) first appeared on Marijuana moment.
