Last week the group of Senate Democrats that have been making the most noise about marijuana reintroduced a bill that would decriminalize marijuana all across the country.
Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, and Cory Booker, all co-authored the bill, titled the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). Mainly, the legislation would remove weed from the Controlled Substances list and continue to allow states to create their own rules and regulations for dealing with the plant. It would also move oversight from the DEA to the FDA and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. This would allow cannabis to be regulated similar to alcohol is now.
All low-level convictions would be gone from their records, and anyone currently serving time could petition for a new sentencing. Finally, a program would be created to educate young people on the dangers of smoking too early.
This is the same language as the last time this bill was introduced to Congress. There still isn’t much hope for this bill to pass, especially with the Biden administration having an avenue forward with moving cannabis to Schedule III, something that will probably happen later this year before the election.
If anything, the bill being introduced back into Congress will help keep the issue fresh for voters.
Read the original story at Truthout.
