A much-anticipated Senate bill to federally legalize marijuana and promote social equity has finally been introduced. Just over a year after first unveiling a draft version of the cannabis reform legislation, Senators Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, and Cory Booker formally filed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) in late July.
Favorable Progress Towards Legalization
The 296-page legalization bill closely resembles a 163-page draft, with the senators highlighting a number of changes, which generally expand on the draft. Schumer discussed the legislation, as well as the next steps, during a Senate floor speech which explained the bipartisan work that went into developing CAOA and how it retains the key pillars of the draft version, according to Marijuana Moment.
The final bill was significantly expanded following extensive input from advocates, stakeholders, and lawmakers, but there was also subtext: the majority leader seemed to leave the door open for his bill’s provisions serving as a jumping off point for alternative, scaled-down cannabis reform legislation that could pass by the year’s end.
“I applaud Sens. Schumer, Booker, and Wyden, and their offices, for their leadership and hard work on the CAO Act,” Christian Sederberg, a founding partner at Vicente Sederberg, LLP and one of the top cannabis lawyers in the country, said. “The bill has a big hill to climb in the heavily divided Senate, but its introduction in the upper chamber by members of the majority party — including the Senate Majority Leader — represents a historic milestone for cannabis policy reform.”
Further Guidance Needed for the CAOA
While this is definitely exciting news, Sederberg continues to share some of the concerns expressed by the U.S. Cannabis Council last fall in its detailed comments about the public draft. The USCC stated that some critical changes would be needed in order for the CAO Act to achieve its long-term objectives of transitioning Americans away from the illicit market to a fully regulated national market, such as:
- The Tax and Trade Bureau at the Treasury Department should be the primary regulator of cannabis. The Food and Drug Administration should set health and safety standards.
- The complexity of production and wide variety of cannabis products require a new model of taxation, at rates that do not fuel the illicit market.
- Before significantly changing the regulatory landscape, new rules should recognize state programs, account for current legal obstacles, and include a sufficient transition period after de-scheduling to ensure that regulators and businesses of all sizes — particularly emerging and social equity businesses — have the necessary time to adapt ahead of the onset of a national marketplace.
According to Sederberg, these challenges are to be expected given the sweeping nature of the legislation and the complex history and issues surrounding our nation’s decades-old cannabis prohibition policy. As we continue to progress on the CAOA, there will continue to be robust hearings at which these concerns and those of other stakeholders can be further fleshed out.
“We will continue to work with USCC and other allies to build support for the CAOA and provide thoughtful policy guidance in those areas where there is room for improvement. We will also support ongoing efforts to advance crucial reforms, like expungement and banking access, as Congress deliberates on the CAO Act and other comprehensive proposals,” Sederberg said.