Democratic lawmakers introduced two separate bills that would, among other things, reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act and increase funding for research.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 (the "MORE Act of 2019") would entirely decriminalize cannabis and remove it from the list of substances regulated under the Controlled Substances Act. In addition to descheduling cannabis, the bill is intended to provide relief to those who have been "adversely impacted by the War on Drugs." The bill was introduced by Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) in the Senate and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in the House of Representatives, with a number of other senators and representatives as co-sponsors. The bill would, among other things:

  • remove cannabis from the schedule of controlled substances;

  • collect and make public data on cannabis business owners and employees;

  • create a trust fund (a/k/a the "Opportunity Trust Fund") and establish a five-percent tax on cannabis products;

  • provide services to those "most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs" that would include (i) job training, (ii) reentry services, (iii) legal aid, (iv) literacy programs, (v) youth recreation or mentoring programs, and (vi) health education programs;

  • provide additional assistance to cannabis-related small businesses;

  • prohibit discrimination against cannabis users or those convicted of a cannabis offense from any federal public benefit or immigration proceedings;

  • expunge federal cannabis offense convictions that are not under a criminal justice sentence; and

  • review sentencing for those under a criminal justice sentence.

Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Expanding Cannabis Research and Information Act, which, if enacted, would reschedule cannabis, increase funding for cannabis research and ease DEA limitations on research licenses. Senator Durbin's bill would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. DEA imposes significant recordkeeping and physical security controls on Schedule III controlled substances, which by definition are less subject to abuse than drugs listed in Schedule I. A prescription would be required to dispense and use cannabis. Under Senator Durbin's proposal, cannabis would be akin to testosterone or certain medications containing codeine.

Commentary

Jodi Avergun

There is an increasing appetite in both houses of Congress to support changes to the untenable marijuana regulatory regime that currently exists. Several bills loosening restriction on cannabis have already been introduced. Senator Harris' bill is largely focused on rectifying perceived wrongs to individuals who were convicted of marijuana trafficking, but it goes the farthest of any bill by totally eliminating the controls on marijuana, except in limited circumstances. Senator Durbin's bill moves marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to Schedule III. It is this latter bill that might actually be passed by the Senate - provided that some reform is viewed as necessary. Senator Durbin takes a pragmatic view and treats marijuana as presumptively medicinal, which is contrary to a number of views in recent legislative proposals.

Senator Durbin's proposal has legs, especially for a Congress that is still somewhat skittish about full legalization. If cannabis were to become a Schedule III drug, the recordkeeping for companies already operating in the United States is only modestly harder.

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