Nancy Mace or Chuck Schumer: Whose Cannabis Reform Bill Do Big Weed Companies Support?

Federal cannabis reform will be created in the image and likeness of the political party in office when it finally happens.

And we don’t know. In fact, Bill Maher lamented last week that “the Republicans are going to steal the issue, I think at some point.” The Real Time talk show host, who spoke with former Attorney General Eric Holder, is probably right.

Republicans, despite their conservative Christian wing, may be psychologically and practically better equipped to legalize cannabis because they keep taxes low and government regulation to a minimum.

While Democrats are more willing to tax, regulate and, to their credit, a strong emphasis on social justice and justice, reflected in a general drive for extinction, regardless of their prohibitionist president.

How do we know?

Just take a look at the two major cannabis reform proposals—one from each party—that have been circulating in and out of the halls of Congress and the state legislatures.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with Sens. Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, launched their Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which we’re told is set to go into effect in August after several false starts.

RELATED: Why Chuck Schumer might trade in cannabis banking sooner rather than later

Then there’s Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) States Reform Act (SRA), which was warmly welcomed when it was introduced in 2021.

Both bills would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, making it legal at the federal level…a good start. Many in the industry agree that the Dems’ CAOA is more social justice oriented and therefore enjoys support from the Marijuana Justice Coalition, which includes the ACLU and Human Rights Watch.

Mace’s SRA is more enterprise oriented and enjoys the support of the Cannabis Freedom Alliance, which includes the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity group.

Photo by Strelov/Getty Images

RELATED: Sen. Lindsey Graham Open About Medical Marijuana, Rep. Nancy Mace Votes Against MORE Act

So, whose legalization bill, and therefore which congressional candidates, are executives from America’s top-rated cannabis companies supporting?

If you guessed Nancy Mace, go to the class teacher.

Cannabis Wire took an in-depth look at the campaign contributions from executives at the following multistate operators:

rise wellness

Ayr Wellness

canopy growth

Columbia care

Cresco Laboratories

Curaleaf Holdings

Industries with a green thumb

TerraAscend

verily

summer stocks

Of these companies, six CEOs made campaign contributions in 2022. Four of them donated to Mace alone. One gave Mace and Gary Chambers, a Louisiana Democrat who is running for the Senate. And there was only Chambers, who made headlines in January when he smoked a joint in one of his campaign ads.

So yes, Bill Maher could be right.