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South Carolina Republican reveals marijuana legalization bill she’ll introduce in Congress

By John Schroyer, Senior Reporter
November 15, 2021

https://mjbizdaily.com/south-carolina-republican-reveals-marijuana-legalization-bill-shell-introduce-in-congress/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=MJD_20211115_NEWS_Daily

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace on Monday discusses the States Reform Act marijuana legalization bill she intends to introduce to Congress.

(This story was updated at 2:58 p.m. ET with additional comments, details.)

A new Republican-led push to legalize marijuana in the United States was unveiled Monday by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace from South Carolina, raising industry hopes that some form of bipartisan marijuana legislation can pass Congress.

The 131-page States Reform Act – showcased during a Capitol Hill news conference – would remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances and allow state governments to continue leading the way on cannabis reform.

The bill would give each state the option to either continue launching new marijuana markets or to maintain a ban.

The legislation would also:

Establish a new federal regulatory framework to treat marijuana like alcohol by splitting industry oversight between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for medical usage, the U.S. Department of Agriculture for farmers, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for adult-use MJ products and industry enforcement. The Treasury Department’s Tax and Trade Bureau would also have jurisdiction over interstate cannabis commerce, according to further analysis from Mace’s office.

Remove all federal criminal penalties related to marijuana consumption and possession as well as expunge most nonviolent MJ criminal convictions.

Establish a 3% federal excise tax for marijuana products.

Give the marijuana sector parity with other industries in the eyes of the Small Business Administration, including eligibility for benefits such as government financial assistance, grants, micro-loans and the like.

Set the stage for both interstate and international marijuana trade.
Ensure that medical marijuana businesses and patients are protected from interference during the federal transition and allow for the continued operation of businesses under state law while the new federal framework is being established.

“Today, only three states lack some form of legal cannabis. My home state of South Carolina permits CBD, Florida allows medical marijuana, California and others have full recreational use, for example,” Mace said in a prepared statement. “It’s past time federal law codifies this reality.”

Mace said her bill is attempting to “remove cannabis from Schedule I in a manner consistent with the rights of states.”

“The States Reform Act takes special care to keep Americans and their children safe while ending federal interference with state cannabis laws,” Mace said.

“Washington needs to provide a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis moving forward. This bill does that.”

Mace also said during her news conference that if her bill is successful it would eliminate the need for the SAFE Banking Act, which would open the gates to banking access for state-legal marijuana companies.

Bill draws major support

The measure has already been formally endorsed by several pro-marijuana lobbying groups, including the Koch brothers-backed Cannabis Freedom Alliance, the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce and the U.S. Cannabis Council.

Also backing the bill is Americans for Prosperity, another conservative political group supported by the Koch brothers.