On February 10th, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) sent a “Dear Colleague" letter to fellow lawmakers requesting that they weigh in on a measure to federally legalize marijuana. The three Senators have stated their intention to officially file the bill in the coming weeks that “aims to right the wrongs of the past and ensure that the federal government is matching the advancements made in states across the country.” The 163-page draft Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act was first unveiled in July 2021. The proposal would remove cannabis from the federal list of Controlled Substances (also known as “descheduling” cannabis); expunge prior convictions; allow people to petition for resentencing; maintain the authority of states to set their own marijuana policies; and remove collateral consequences like immigration-related penalties for people who have been criminalized over cannabis.
Senator Schumer has faced criticism from some advocates due to the time it has taken to get to this stage of the legislative process. In the “Dear Colleague” letter, the Senate majority leader and his two colleagues said they received more than 1,800 comments in response to their initial draft legislation “from a broad array of stakeholders… In the weeks ahead, we will continue the work of incorporating these comments as we aim to introduce legislation soon that is as comprehensive and as reflective of as many relevant views and voices as possible,” they wrote. Now, the Senate trio says that in order to “appropriately address such a nuanced issue,” they are requesting input from leaders of “relevant committees” with jurisdiction on cannabis issues, as well as input from Senators “senators who have dealt with the challenges and realities of legalization in their own states.”