Schumer delays publication of Senate legalization bill

The wait for the Senate version of a cannabis legalization bill will continue for months, with Democratic leaders in the chamber on Thursday indicating it will come sometime in the summer.

According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was proud of the progress senators have made to “bring this important piece of legislation closer to its official introduction” ahead of the early August break.”

The timeline marks a shift from what Schumer previously said, and it could shock legalization advocates who had hoped Senate legislation would arrive sooner — especially after the U.S. House of Representatives passed its own ban-ending legislation earlier this month passed at the federal level.

The New York Democrat said after the House passed that he hoped the Senate would unveil his legalization measure by the end of this month.

On April 1, the Democrat-led House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively ending the federal marijuana ban.

Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who is working with Schumer and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden on Senate legalization legislation, said the bill passed by the House of Representatives is unlikely to get approval in the Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats.

“Right now we’re looking at doing what we’ve been working on for a long time,” Booker said, as quoted by Roll Call.

According to The Hill, Schumer said the Senate bill is titled “Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act,” and the Majority Leader said the legislation will remove cannabis from the federal controlled substances list and “help fix our criminal justice system and allow for recovery.” to meet concerns, protect public health and implement responsible taxation and regulation.”

Schumer and other Democrats on Capitol Hill have made it clear since the party took control of Congress and the White House last year that they intend to push for federal legalization.

In an interview with Politico last year, Schumer said Democrats would take action despite President Joe Biden’s reluctance to support legalization.

“We’re going to keep going,” Schumer said. “[Biden] said he was studying the problem, so [I] obviously I want to give him a little time to study it. I want to present my arguments to him, as many other advocates will. But eventually we will move on, period.”

Schumer said in the interview that observing legalization work at the state level helped his development on the issue.

“In 2018, I became the first member of the Democratic leadership to speak out in favor of ending federal bans. I’m sure you’re asking, “Well, what’s changed?” Well, my thinking has evolved. When some of the early states—Oregon and Colorado—wanted to legalize, all opponents spoke of the parade of the terrible: crime would rise. Drug use would increase. Anything bad would happen,” Schumer said. “State legalization has worked remarkably well. They were a great success. The parade of the terrible never happened, and people were given more freedom. And people in those states seem very happy.”

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden said he supported the decriminalization of cannabis but did not advocate legalization.

Following the passage of the MORE Act by the House of Representatives earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the President believes “current marijuana laws aren’t working.”

“We look forward to working with Congress to achieve our common goals and we will continue to discuss this goal with them,” Psaki said at a news conference.

However, winning over Biden might prove easier than garnering Republican support. As The Hill noted, “Many Republicans oppose legislation legalizing marijuana, which is one of Schumer’s biggest hurdles to getting such a measure through the 50-50 Senate,” and that Democrats, in order to “allow safe passage.” ensure their support would require entire caucus and at least 10 Republicans to circumvent a likely filibuster.”