Top House Democrat And Republican Congressman File Bill To Prepare For Federal Marijuana Legalization
Published on April 14, 2023By Kyle Jaeger
The top House Democrat and a Republican lawmaker have refiled a bill to lay the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) introduced the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act on Thursday.
The incremental reform would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what’s currently in place for alcohol.
“With nearly every state adopting its own set of cannabis reforms, an end to federal cannabis prohibition is inevitable,” Joyce, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in a press release.
“Now is the time for the federal government to respect the will of our constituents and begin the conversation on fair and effective cannabis regulation,” he said. “The PREPARE Act will give lawmakers a bipartisan platform to legislate not only a fair and responsible end to prohibition but also a safer future for our communities.”
The prospects of comprehensive marijuana legalization advancing in the Republican-controlled House this session are questionable, but certain members have expressed confidence that modest reform could be achievable on a bipartisan basis. The PREPARE Act could represent an area of agreement to that end.
“Americans across the political spectrum recognize that now is the time for cannabis reform, and the federal government should be ready to embrace and lead this change,” Jeffries said. “Since the failed war on drugs began over 50 years ago, the prohibition of marijuana has ruined lives, families and communities—particularly communities of color.”
“The PREPARE Act is one of the bipartisan solutions that will lay the groundwork to finally right these wrongs in a way that advances public safety and boosts our economy,” he said. “I am grateful to Congressman Joyce for reintroducing this important bill and his leadership to help the federal government be ready for the inevitable end to cannabis prohibition.”
While legalization legislation was introduced last Congress, with Democrats in control of both chambers plus the White House, they did not advance on the Senate side, with leadership acknowledging the challenge of meeting a 60-vote threshold with a narrow majority.
Advocates are also closely following for developments on a package of incremental reforms that’s expected to contain marijuana banking and expungements legislation. Efforts to push that through last session similarly stalled out.
The PREPARE Act, meanwhile, is mostly identical to the version the lawmakers filed last Congress, with some minor changes to the commission’s responsibilities and legislative appointments.
Here’s what the bill would accomplish:
Require the attorney general to establish a “Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis” within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
The commission would be responsible for studying federal and state regulatory models for alcohol and make recommendations about how they could inform marijuana regulations.
Among other things, the commission’s report must look at the impact of marijuana criminalization, particularly as it concerns minority, low-income and veteran communities.
The panel would also examine the “lack of consistent regulations for cannabis product safety, use and labeling requirements,” including those related to youth safety, as well as the “lack of guidance for cannabis crop production, sale, intrastate, interstate, and international trade.“
It would also need to make recommendations on how to remedy cannabis-related banking and research barriers as well as address measures to ensure the “successful coexistence of individual hemp and cannabis industries, including prevention of cross pollination of cannabis and hemp products.”
Members would further be mandated to study and make recommendations on “efficient cannabis revenue reporting and collecting, including efficient and tenable federal revenue frameworks.”
The panel would be required to issue a report to Congress within 12 months.
The bill was revised for the new Congress to make it so the commission would also have to look at “requirements to protect youth and reduce harms to youth” as part of its directive to assess the lack of consistent safety standards in marijuana regulations.
Another revision requires the House minority leader to appoint a commission member who is an “expert in the history of cannabis criminalization and the impact of criminalization on various communities, particularly minorities, medical patients, and veterans.”
Previously, the minority leader was tasked with appointing someone who was “medically licensed with substantial knowledge and demonstrated research into cannabis use and medical treatments.” That would instead be the majority leader’s responsibility under the amended bill, whereas the previous version would have had the majority leader appoint a medical cannabis patient or advocate, a role that is no longer contemplated under the new bill.
The commission would also include representatives of:
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Justice
Department of Agriculture
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Interior
Department of Education
Department of Labor
Department of Commerce
National Institutes of Health
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Food and Drug Administration
Internal Revenue Service
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Small Business Administration
