Democrats urge Congress to tackle cannabis reform in 2022 |

The Democrats in Congress are aiming for a major overhaul of the country’s cannabis laws next year.

In a memo sent out last week, MPs Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, urged colleagues to build on the successes of 2021 that were celebrated as “a transformative year” for cannabis reform, in which five new states – New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, Connecticut – legalized adult cannabis and Alabama became the 37th state to legalize medicinal cannabis. “

“A plethora of political ideas aimed at ending the federal cannabis ban were also unveiled on Capitol Hill,” they wrote in the memo sent Thursday last week. “This growing bipartisan dynamic for cannabis reform shows that Congress in 2022 is poised for progress and we are closer than ever to aligning our cannabis policies and laws with the American people.”

Blumenauer and Lee outlined a number of political priorities for the party to address in 2022, including a bill to legalize cannabis at the federal level.

The law known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act is one of several marijuana proposals that have been tabled by Democrats that have yet to be enforced on Capitol Hill.

Described by Blumenauer and Lee as “the most comprehensive cannabis reform bill ever developed and scrutinized by Congress,” the MORE Act would “decriminalize and terminate cannabis to provide reinvestment in certain individuals detrimental to the war on drugs.” are concerned to provide for the repeal of certain cannabis offenses and for other purposes. “

The bill, tabled by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler (D-NY), was last reported from the Judiciary Committee in September for House Soon. “

Blumenauer and Lee also highlighted the SAFE Banking Act, which would remove legal barriers that would prevent the cannabis industry from accessing certain financial services.

The bill has passed the House of Representatives several times, most recently in April, and the Blumenauer and Lee memo described it as a way to “address the pressing public safety need arising from the need for cannabis companies to operate with cash. would allow state and indigenous legal cannabis companies to access financial services. “

They found that “polls show bipartisan public support for drug policy rationalization is at an all-time high, with Gallup now reporting that 68 percent of Americans and a majority of Republicans support the legalization of marijuana.”

Democrats will be under significant pressure to do something meaningful on cannabis reform next year as the 2022 midterm elections are on the horizon and Republicans come first to win back the majority.

Blumenauer and Lee’s memo made it clear that the clock is ticking for a party that seemed eager to accept legalization after the 2020 elections.

At the start of another election year, it is more important than ever to seize the moment and answer the calls of the American public, ”the memo reads. “We are ready to take courageous measures to end the failed war on drugs once and for all.”

The Senate Democrats appear ready on the other side of the Capitol as well. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, in an interview earlier this year, said the party would “move forward” with legalization, citing the wave of cannabis-related reforms being implemented at the state level.

“In 2018 I was the first member of the democratic leadership to speak out in favor of ending the federal ban. You are probably asking yourself, “What has changed?” Well, my thinking has evolved. When some of the early states – Oregon and Colorado – tried to legalize, all opponents spoke of the Parade of Horrors: crime would rise. Drug use would increase. Anything bad would happen, ”said Schumer.