That’s what the Republicans’ new marijuana legalization law says
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) today unveiled the State Reform Act, a measure that would remove marijuana from the federal register of controlled substances and allow each state to regulate the substance at its own discretion.
MP Nancy Mace (R-SC) comes forward with an intriguing Republican proposal to end the federal ban.
Most of the measures to legalize cannabis have been spearheaded by Democrats, but the South Carolina Representative’s bill breaks that pattern.
The States Reform Act gives legalization proposals a traditional Republican twist by setting an exceptionally low federal tax rate (3%) and removing most of the social justice provisions.
Citing the vast majority of Americans who are in favor of decriminalizing cannabis (70%, according to recent polls), Rep. Mace noted that “only 3 states are today lacking any form of legal cannabis (Idaho, Kansas, and Nebraska).”
“I believe this law has something for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, “Mace said at a press conference this afternoon.
What is the State Reform Act?
According to a policy brief provided by Mace’s office, the States Reform Act would “federally decriminalize cannabis and subordinate itself entirely to state powers over prohibitions and commercial regulations.”
“This bill will also limit a number of barriers that hinder innovation and entrepreneurship in a free and open market,” she added.
So what’s on the bill? Here is the full text of the law. Leafly’s analysis of the measure continues below.
How would this affect applicable law?
Under the State Reform Act, cannabis would be removed from the federal list of controlled substances. States are free to prohibit, authorize, and / or regulate marijuana at their discretion. As with alcohol, cannabis would no longer be illegal under federal law, but could be banned under state law.
Would Cannabis Crimes Be Wiped Out?
The law promises “federal release and execution for those convicted of non-violent cannabis-only crimes.” This would only include people convicted of federal cannabis offenses. State crimes would have to be handled through the completely independent state judicial system.
According to an analysis provided by Rep. Mace, “cartel members, agents of cartel gangs or people convicted of drinking under the influence (DUI)” would not have been released and deleted.
Rep. Mace’s office projects 2,600 federal layoffs, but says that “federal releases and removals are left to each state.”
Would medical marijuana be affected?
The law protects medical cannabis for the following uses: arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, sickle cell anemia, HIV / AIDS, PTSD, and other medical uses under a state’s specific cannabis regulations.
Rep. Mace also pledges to “ensure the safe haven of government medical cannabis programs and patient access while enabling the development of new medical research and products.”
What is the tax rate?
This is where Rep. Mace’s measure differs significantly from previous legalization offers. Their proposed bill would impose a federal excise tax of 3% on cannabis products. That’s dramatically lower than the 10-25% tax rate proposed in existing proposals by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and others.
How would the tax revenue be spent?
Here’s another difference from Democrat-led bills. Under the State Reform Act, a significant percentage of state cannabis excise tax revenues would be used for law enforcement programs.
The same money could be poured into social justice and education programs that aim to level the playing field for those hardest hit by the war on drugs. But terms like “social justice” are noticeably missing from the 131-page bill.
Here is the breakdown:
- 40% for grant programs for federal law enforcement agencies
- 30% in support of Small Business Administration funds for newly admitted small businesses
- 10% to military veteran’s mental health programs
- 5% to indicate opioid epidemic response programs
- 5% for minors to prevent cannabis use
The reason for the low tax rate is to give legal companies a chance against the illegal market. “If you look at states like California, where taxes on cannabis are very high, there is still an illegal market,” said MP Mace on Monday afternoon.
“We want to make sure that the funding of this excise tax is very low, it has to be below 4% to reduce the possibility of illegal markets or black markets in different states, depending on how they are legalized.” Representative Nancy Mace
How will Act help small businesses?
The law provides immediate action for cannabis companies that have been blocked by simple tasks like banking.
Rep. Mace states that if the Turnkey Bill were passed today, “there would be no need for SAFE Banking (Act) as businesses like alcohol would be legal and regulated.”
Federal regulation would be split between four agencies, from seeds to sales.
According to the plan, the USDA will oversee growth; The FDA will oversee medical access; The ATF will oversee legal cannabis products and the TTB will oversee international trade.
The bill is conservative as each state regulates its unique cannabis markets differently. There are no federal laws preventing monopolies from dominating state markets.
What about social justice?
The bill does not include specific social justice measures. The simple excuse for this is that each state’s market is too unique to reform across the board. But, as always, there are other policies.
Fortunately, those with pending state cannabis “indictments or cases and convictions”
Pending Conviction “all relevant charges should be dismissed within 14 days of the law coming into force.
Who supports the bill?
Rep. Mace said the SRA had five original Republican co-sponsors just before filing the bill this afternoon.
She added, “We’re getting a lot of great feedback from Republicans and Democrats on this bill. My main goal was to get as much Republican support as possible in the beginning. We’re hearing great feedback on this legislation from both sides of the aisle. “
The bill was approved by the Americans for Prosperity, the Cannabis Freedom Alliance, and the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce.
Age restrictions
The States Reform Act does not prescribe a federal minimum age, but encourages individual states to make cannabis legal only for adults 21 and older, with medical exceptions for those under the age of 21.
The measure also contains provisions to prevent advertising from reaching minors under the age of 21.
How will veterans be affected?
The bill protects military veterans by ensuring they are not discriminated against when federal agencies discontinue cannabis or simply lose their VA health benefits because of legal adult use.
Would you like more information? Here is Rep. Mace’s official executive summary of the bill. Watch their press conference on the State Reform Act here.
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