Schumer touts “overwhelming evidence” that legalizing cannabis does not increase crime

Through Jelena Martinovic

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) remains firm on his stance that cannabis reform will not lead to an increase in crime or drug use.

“The overwhelming evidence from the states that have legalized cannabis is that there has been no increase in crime and no increase in drug use,” Schumer said at a recent news conference. The comments followed his introduction of long-awaited US Senate legislation that would decriminalize and de-schedule cannabis at the federal level.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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The nearly 300-page Cannabis Administration And Opportunity Act (CAOA) by Schumer and Senators Ron Wyden and Cory Booker was unveiled last week. Two other Senate Democrats, Deputy Democratic Leader Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), also agreed to back the measure.

The briefing, held on Tuesday, coincided with the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, in which Booker addressed many important issues surrounding the legalization of cannabis at the federal level. The subcommittee has yet to vote on the CAOA.

Schumer’s latest cannabis legalization efforts

Despite an overall pessimistic sentiment regarding the passage of the bill in the Senate, as it requires a 60-vote threshold to pass, Schumer remains committed to the broad reform proposal.

Several times over the past month, the senator has met with GOP House Representative Dave Joyce (R-OH) to discuss possible bipartisan cannabis reform steps that can be taken ahead of the finalization of a separate sweeping legalization bill that will do much more than just banking and extinguishing reforms.

RELATED: Schumer, Booker and Wyden Unveil Cannabis Legalization Bill — Here’s What’s Inside

The two lawmakers discussed combining the two already existing bipartisan bills, Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s (D-CO) Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act and the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act, a bill that would Help states erase criminal records for people convicted of nonviolent cannabis offenses.

The SAFE Banking Act has passed the House of Representatives seven times. However, she still sits in the Senate under Republican and Democratic leadership.

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