Colorado pioneered one of the most successful legal cannabis markets, and our PREPARE Act will lay the groundwork for federal legalization.
Americans overwhelmingly support legalizing weed – it’s time to give the people what they want!
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) July 20, 2023
Marijuana Moment
A Democratic senator has refiled a bill that’s meant to lay the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced the legislation—titled the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act—on Thursday.
The incremental reform would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what’s currently in place for alcohol.
It’s largely identical to a House companion version filed by Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in April, with some additional provisions related to commission membership and directives. The bill was introduced for the first time last session in both chambers, but it did not advance.
Hickenlooper, who served as governor of Colorado when voters approved a first-ever recreational cannabis legalization initiative in 2012, which he campaigned against at the time, said in a press release on Monday that his state “is the model for a safe, well regulated marijuana market.”
“Let’s build on that success with federal regulation,” he said.
Here’s what the bill would accomplish:
Require the attorney general to establish a “Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis” within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
The commission would be responsible for studying federal and state regulatory models for alcohol and make recommendations about how they could inform marijuana regulations.
Among other things, the commission’s report must look at the impact of marijuana criminalization, particularly as it concerns minority, low-income and veteran communities.
The panel would also examine the “lack of consistent regulations for cannabis product safety, use and labeling requirements,” including those related to youth safety, as well as the “lack of guidance for cannabis crop production, sale, intrastate, interstate, and international trade.“
It would also need to make recommendations on how to remedy cannabis-related banking and research barriers as well as address measures to ensure the “successful coexistence of individual hemp and cannabis industries, including prevention of cross pollination of cannabis and hemp products.”
Members would further be mandated to study and make recommendations on “efficient cannabis revenue reporting and collecting, including efficient and tenable federal revenue frameworks.”
The panel would be required to issue a report to Congress within 12 months.
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Senator Files Bill To Prepare For Federal Marijuana Legalization With Alcohol-Like Regulations
Sean Hocking
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