Cory Booker is optimistic cannabis reform can happen during the lame duck session — here’s why

Through Johanna Skopl

In a recent interview, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) told NJ.com’s Dave D’Alessandro that cannabis reforms are on the right track and that Congress has a “good chance” to pass them during the lame duck -Session after Congress to adopt midterm elections.

An optimistic perspective

Booker, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced a marijuana bill in July that would decriminalize and de-schedule cannabis at the federal level, saying he recently passed the legislation discussed with Schumer and he felt they had made progress.

“It’s very likely that during the lame duck – ahead of the new Congress – we’re going to see a really good bipartisan attempt to postpone it. Maybe it’s not the bill I wrote with Schumer and (Ron) Wyden, but an attempt to combine restorative justice and some fair banking regulations,” Booker said.

“I think it has a good chance because our Republican allies also understand that if either house of Congress goes Republican, it’s going to be very difficult to do anything about marijuana.” We have a good shot. I wouldn’t say it’s a great shot, but it’s on the way.”

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Social Justice: A Priority

The bill, which will pass the Senate, must address areas like restorative justice, make the banking industry equally available, invest tax revenues (to help with addiction and create economic opportunity), and deal with “the sins of the past,” Booker said .

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Legalization “will benefit the hardest-hit communities in three ways,” Booker said. “One is the criminal justice path that Biden has been moving towards. The second is the reinvestment of tax revenues from legitimate businesses in the communities that have been disproportionately affected (…) And the third area is the business opportunity: I thought it would be shared equally, but there were dramatically fewer minorities with licenses.”

Further steps are to be taken

Referring to Biden’s recent announcement of a move to pardon people convicted of federal cannabis possession and asking federal agencies to reclassify marijuana, Booker said the impact of the president’s action was “overwhelming.”

However, there is still more to do. “The fact that we are deporting parents of American children for possession of marijuana should outrage every American,” he added, citing a group excluded from the president’s clemency. “And of course, as we approach a majority of states moving towards legalization, we should look at the people who have made these low-level sales.”

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Still, Booker applauded Biden’s action. “He and I had conversations during those debates – offstage – that were meaningful to me. Because he’s committed to doing the things he’s done [last] Week. I just think it’s a powerful thing for your chosen leader to say they’re going to do something and then go through with it,” Booker said.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.