Bill To Federally Legalize Marijuana Filed by GOP Lawmakers

Last week, Representatives Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced the Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act which would federally legalize marijuana while also providing specific protections for cannabis banking. Under the bill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of the Treasury would be required to issue cannabis regulations—modeled on those for alcohol—within a year. Notably, the bill lacks social justice provisions to repair the past harms of the war on drugs, provisions that have been emphasized as key inclusions in current Democrat proposals for federal marijuana legislation.