An Encouraging Development for the Cause of Cannabis Legalization

Jeffrey A. SingerYesterday, U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (R ‑S.C.) introduced theStates Reform Act that would remove cannabis from the federal government ’s list of controlled substances, expunge federal criminal records related to nonviolent cannabis offenses, prevent the Small Business Administration from discriminating against state‐​licensed cannabis businesses, and allow doctors practicing in the Veterans Affairs Health System to prescribe medicinal marijuana.In those respects, the proposed legislation has much in common with a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D ‑NY) over the summer, and the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (M.O.R.E.) Act that was passed by the House of Representatives in December 2020. The latter garnered only a few Republican votes.However, this bill, drafted with input and model language fromGeoffrey Lawrence of Reason Foundation, locks in place a 3 percent federal excise tax on marijuana for 10 years. In contrast, the Schumer proposal features a 10 percent excise tax that grows to 25 percent in 5 years. The M.O.R.E. Act starts with a 5 percent excise tax increases it to 8 percent over 5 years.The Mace bill distributes the revenue to existing entities while Schumer ’s creates three new grant programs.Another important distinction of Mace ’s bill is that it grants the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate cannabis in the s...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs