Marking the 10th anniversary since Colorado voters approved marijuana legalization at the ballot, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) announced on Thursday that he will soon be filing a congressional bill to set the country up for federal cannabis reform.
Specifically, the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for marijuana that models what’s currently in place for alcohol.
The measure is identical to a House companion bill that Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Brian Mast (R-FL) filed in April. Hickenlooper’s staff told Marijuana Moment that the Senate version will be formally introduced when the chamber returns from recess in mid-November.
The senator sees the commission that would be created by the legislation as similar to a task force he empaneled when he was Colorado’s governor to steer implementation of legalization at the state level.