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U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), alongside Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), introduced a bill Thursday morning that would decriminalize cannabis at the federal level.
The trio of senators filed their long-awaited cannabis reform bill, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, more than a year after releasing the draft version. In addition to removing cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances, the bill would provide funding for cannabis research, expunge federal cannabis offenses, and support small cannabis businesses.
Two other Democratic senators co-sponsored the legislation.
Among the key revisions to the draft version is a refined federal definition of “cannabis,” an added pathway by which non-citizens can have deportation orders for cannabis-related offenses reconsidered, and a new section on workplace health and safety.
Oregon voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2014. Wyden says it’s time for Congress to follow suit.
“By failing to act, the federal government is empowering the illicit cannabis market, it’s ruining lives and propping up deeply rooted racism in our criminal justice system, it’s holding back small cannabis businesses from growing and creating jobs in their communities,” Wyden said in an announcement Thursday morning. “Cannabis legalization is here, and Congress needs to get with the program.”
Federal decriminalization of cannabis would end restrictions on cannabis businesses’ access to banking services that require their dispensaries to hold large amounts of cash, making them susceptible to armed robberies. In a recent interview with WW, Wyden described cannabis dispensaries’ reliance on cash as a “magnet for criminal activity.”
Passage of the bill in Congress appears unlikely. While Schumer has long championed federal decriminalization of cannabis, several of his Democratic colleagues oppose it or remain undecided, dooming the future of the CAOA.
Despite the bill’s slim chances of passing, Wyden hopes to use the introduced legislation as an opportunity to move the conversation on federally decriminalizing cannabis forward, according to Wyden spokesman Hank Stern.
“While passing the entire bill with a 50-50 majority in the Senate is a long shot, Sen. Wyden is making the case to his colleagues on the other side of the aisle that this is an issue of public safety, public health, and jobs—on top of restorative and economic justice,” Stern wrote in an email to WW. “And he’s doing everything he can to get as much of his bill passed as possible.”