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Descheduling, Decriminalizing, Banking, and More

By Madeline Grant, NCIA’s Government Relations Manager

It’s always an invigorating time on Capitol Hill when a new Congress begins to get to work. The atmosphere is unlike any other; Hill offices are getting situated with their staff, hallways are full of exhilarated constituents, freshman members are finding their footing while moving into their offices, and committee assignments are being finalized. Congressional staffers, members of Congress, lobbyists, constituents, and advocates are back in action. 

As we gear up for the 118th Congress, let’s take a look at some bills that we will see introduced to address descheduling, decriminalizing, and banking legislative efforts for the cannabis industry.  

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity (CAOA) Act

The long-awaited CAOA was unveiled last congress by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR). The comprehensive legalization would end federal prohibition by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, empower states to create their own cannabis laws, ensure federal regulation protects public health and safety, and prioritize restorative and economic justice. CAOA was first released as a discussion draft last year, alongside a request for comments from stakeholders. The National Cannabis Industry Association worked directly with Senator Schumer’s office and submitted comments to the bill. Although there was no movement, NCIA will continue to work directly with these offices to continue to improve the bill for the cannabis sector. 

The States Reform Act

Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) States Reform Act was introduced last congress by a freshman congresswoman from a state without any cannabis laws. The bill would federally decriminalize cannabis by fully deferring to state powers over prohibition and commercial regulation, regulate cannabis products like alcohol, institute a three percent federal excise tax on those products to fund law enforcement and small business programs, and protect our veterans by ensuring they will not be discriminated against in federal hiring for cannabis use or lose their healthcare, and more. Last year this bill received positive feedback from the industry and NCIA will continue to work with Rep. Mace’s office this congress. 

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act

The MORE Act would end the criminalization of cannabis for adults by removing it from the list of controlled substances, eliminate related criminal penalties, and take several other major steps toward criminal justice reform, social justice, and economic development. Some key provisions of this bill are automatic expungements, impose a five percent tax on the retail sales of cannabis, create the Office of Cannabis Justice to oversee the social equity provisions, ensure the federal government could not discriminate against people because of cannabis use, and much more. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who served as chair to the House Judiciary Committee, was the sponsor of the bill last congress and was able to advance the bill through the chamber with ease. However, with Republicans winning back the majority in the House, successes like this will be more challenging. Additionally, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the new chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has not been supportive of the cannabis sector. 

The Securing and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking

The SAFE Banking Act aims to protect banking institutions- as well as their insurers- that choose to offer services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses operating in accordance with their respective state laws. The bill prevents federal banking regulators from imposing penalties on depository institutions that offer services to cannabis-related businesses. SAFE Banking is a bipartisan bill that has passed the House seven times. The broad consensus was that inaction on SAFE Banking came down to Senate leadership. As bipartisan Senate discussions materialized towards the end of last Congress, Republican senators requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) to analyze the bill. The DOJ wrote, “because marijuana would remain illegal under federal law, Congress should ensure efforts to provide access to financial services for state-legal businesses does not unintentionally erect obstacles to prosecution of other illicit activity or activities involving money laundering of proceeds of other illegal drugs or sales of marijuana that do not comply with state requirements.” Despite the concerns, the DOJ stated they would be happy to work with Congress on ways to improve the bill. As the 118th Congress begins, we will continue to do what we can to get SAFE Banking to this finish line. 

The Harnessing Opportunity by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act

In 2021 Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), who is a co-chair of the House Cannabis Caucus, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced the HOPE Act to help states with expunging cannabis offenses by reducing the financial and administrative burden of such efforts through federal grants. Both lawmakers have advocated for cannabis reform on their respective sides of the aisle, with Rep. Joyce (R-OH) sponsoring the first Republican-led effort to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level in the House. Towards the end of last year discussions surfaced around including the HOPE Act in a SAFE Plus package. Unfortunately, with the end of the congressional session quickly coming to an end, so did the proposed package.

NCIA will continue to work with Capitol Hill offices to advance cannabis policy in the 118th Congress. With a shift in political dynamic, it’s imperative to continue to be a resource for congressional offices. Don’t miss the opportunity to attend our 11th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days will be held May 16-18 in Washington, D.C.! You can register here. If you’re interested in getting more involved in our policy efforts or have questions about NCIA’s lobby days please reach out to madeline@thecannabisindustry.org. Stay tuned for more updates from the Government Relations team and check out last week’s blogs here. 

NCIA Update From Capitol Hill

NCIA’s team in Washington, D.C. and our allies in Congress have been busy advancing cannabis reforms on Capitol Hill over the last couple of weeks. The Congressional appropriations process for the FY2019 federal budget is well under way and cannabis has been at the center of some of the debates around government spending.

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation that would renew protections for state medical cannabis programs when the current spending budget expires in September. The language, which was introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), prevents the Department of Justice from using any resources to target medical cannabis patients or providers who are in compliance with state laws.

While this provision has been amended into the budget since 2014, this is the first time that this provision has been included in the original language of the spending bill by either chamber of Congress. Thanks to the hundreds of member-businesses that have invested in NCIA’s work on Capitol Hill over the years and the growing public support for national cannabis reforms, this policy is no longer a controversial issue for Congress.In fact, leading up to the Senate hearing, Sen. Lankford (R-OK) attempted to include a budget rider that would effectively nullify the medical cannabis protections but later withdrew it, citing lack of support.

Over on the House side, an amendment offered by Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) which would have restricted the Treasury Department from using tax dollars to sanction banks for providing financial services to the legal cannabis industry came very close to passing but ultimately did not make it into the budget package. NCIA is working with our allies in the Senate to include the banking protections in that chamber’s version of the federal budget in the days ahead.

Another champion for social justice and sensible cannabis policies, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), introduced a first-of-its-kind resolution bringing attention to the racially discriminatory enforcement of marijuana prohibition. Lee’s Realizing Equitable & Sustainable Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades (RESPECT) Resolution calls on states with legal cannabis to enact policies to ensure that people of color and communities that have suffered the most under prohibition policies have equal access to business opportunities within the emerging legal cannabis industry.

NCIA applauded Rep. Lee and the bipartisan group of lawmakers who are leading the charge on tackling this important issue.

Meanwhile, other nations may be surpassing the U.S. in enacting sensible marijuana policies. Just today, the Canadian Parliament passed legislation that would legalize adult-use cannabis for our neighbor to the North beginning in October 2018. For more information about how the U.S. cannabis industry risks falling behind other nations due to outdated federal laws, download NCIA’s recent white paper, “How the U.S. is Falling Behind in the Global Cannabis Market.”

Stay engaged with NCIA for more news about the advancement of federal cannabis reforms and to learn about how you can get more involved.  

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