Democrats taking control of the Senate — decided Wednesday by Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff’s win over GOP Sen. David Perdue in the Georgia Senate runoff election — significantly changes the prospects for passing cannabis legislation in the new Congress.
But don’t expect President-elect Joe Biden to sign a comprehensive legalization bill by Easter.
Full legalization remains a tall order with such a slim majority: They will have a 50-50 share of the chamber and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a Democrat, will be able to join to break ties.
Some pro-cannabis senators and advocates say legalization may be more likely to progress if it is part of a policing and criminal justice reform package. Piecemeal legislation with broader bipartisan support such as banking access for cannabis businesses and medical marijuana research, however, have a better chance to advance. Chances greatly increase under a chamber led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for the removal of a rider prohibiting the District of Columbia from starting a regulated cannabis industry.
Schumer v. McConnell: The two Senate leaders could hardly be more different on cannabis policy. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shut down attempts — even by Republicans like former Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner — to pass any marijuana reform legislation aside from medical marijuana research expansion.
Schumer is the chief sponsor of the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act, which would federally decriminalize marijuana and create a trust fund for small businesses in the industry owned by women, minorities and other groups. Schumer has been talking about cannabis reform for a few years, but raised the issue frequently throughout 2020. He tweeted about it multiple times and hosted Facebook live conversations with lawmakers including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) about legalization.
Cannabis banking legislation: Prospects for passing legislation that would make it easier for marijuana businesses to access banking rise significantly with Democrats in control of the Senate. The SAFE Banking Act enjoys broad bipartisan support: It passed the House with support from nearly half of the chamber’s Republicans on board, and five GOP senators co-sponsored the bill in the last Congress. But McConnell’s reluctance to bring any marijuana bills to the floor for a vote hamstrung its ability to advance.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is expected to become the next chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Brown didn’t cosponsor cannabis banking bill in the last Congress, but he said in several interviews during the 116th Congress that the banking bill was something Democrats wanted to work on with Republicans. He added, however, that Democrats’ ambitions are not limited to banking access.
“We’re not just going to help the banks and then not at all deal with the damage that has been caused by arrests and law enforcement,” Brown said in late 2019.
Marijuana legalization: The biggest question mark is whether the Senate can pass comprehensive changes to federal marijuana policy — including removing federal penalties around marijuana use and possession, regulating a new industry and expunging past marijuana-related criminal records. Schumer has promised that a Democratic-controlled chamber will try to pass sweeping changes.
Schumer has made…
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