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In the United States, the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the category reserved for drugs that have "no currently accepted medical use", is a proposed legal and administrative change in cannabis-related law at the federal level. After being proposed repeatedly since 1972, the U.S. Department of Justice initiated 2024 rulemaking to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The majority of 2024 public comments supported descheduling, decriminalizing, or legalizing marijuana at the federal level.
In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is legalized in 24 states and decriminalized in 7 states, as of November 2023. Decriminalization refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possessing small amounts, instead of criminal prosecution or the threat of arrest. In jurisdictions without penalty the policy is referred to as legalization, although the term decriminalization is sometimes used for this purpose as well.
In the United States, increased restrictions and labeling of cannabis as a poison began in many states from 1906 onward, and outright prohibitions began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including 35 states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
The drug policy in the United States is the activity of the federal government relating to the regulation of drugs. Starting in the early 1900s, the United States government began enforcing drug policies. These policies criminalized drugs such as opium, morphine, heroin, and cocaine outside of medical use. The drug policies put into place are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Classification of Drugs are defined and enforced using the Controlled Substance Act, which lists different drugs into their respective substances based on its potential of abuse and potential for medical use. Four different categories of drugs are Alcohol, Cannabis, Opioids, and Stimulants.
Drug liberalization is a drug policy process of decriminalizing, legalizing, or repealing laws that prohibit the production, possession, sale, or use of prohibited drugs. Variations of drug liberalization include drug legalization, drug relegalization, and drug decriminalization. Proponents of drug liberalization may favor a regulatory regime for the production, marketing, and distribution of some or all currently illegal drugs in a manner analogous to that for alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.
The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, also known as California Assembly Bill 390 and later Assembly Bill 2254, is the first bill ever introduced to regulate the sale and use of marijuana in the U.S. state of California. If passed and signed into law, marijuana would be sold and taxed openly to adults age 21 and older in California. Tom Ammiano, a Democrat representing California's 13th State Assembly district, introduced this piece of legislation on February 23, 2009, arguing that the bill will "tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol." As introduced, this proposal is estimated to raise over $1 billion in annual revenue by taxing the retail production and sale of marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older. To obtain a commercial grow license one would pay an initial $5,000 fee, then a $2,500 fee each year after that. A tariff of $50 per ounce would also be placed on all sold and grown marijuana. The bill has gained much media attention, statewide and nationally.
The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act is a series of federal marijuana decriminalization bills that have been introduced multiple times in the United States Congress.
The first Donald Trump administration (2017–2021) took positions against marijuana and against the easing of laws regarding marijuana. Although Trump indicated during his 2016 presidential campaign that he favored leaving the issue of legalization of marijuana to the states, his administration subsequently upheld the federal prohibition of cannabis, and Trump's 2021 fiscal budget proposal included removing protections for state medical marijuana laws.
The Cannabis Law legalizes recreational cannabis in New York. It is chapter 7-A of the Consolidated Laws of New York, and was originally enacted by the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act on March 31, 2021 but has since been amended.
The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act was a bill proposed in the 115th United States Congress that would recognize legalization of cannabis and the U.S. state laws that have legalized it through their legislatures or citizen initiative. It was introduced on June 7, 2018, by Senators Cory Gardner and Elizabeth Warren. A companion bill was introduced the same day in the House of Representatives, sponsored by Earl Blumenauer and David Joyce. The act would amend the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 to exempt from federal enforcement individuals or corporations in states who are in compliance with U.S. state, U.S. territory and the District of Columbia, or tribal law on cannabis, with certain additional provisions such as minimum ages. The banking provisions of the STATES Act have been reintroduced as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 in the 116th U.S. Congress by Ed Perlmutter in the House, and by Jeff Merkley in the Senate. As of September 18, 2019, the House bill had 206 cosponsors, and the Senate bill had 33 cosponsors.
The SAFE Banking Act, officially H.R. 1595, full title Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act, also referred to as the SAFE Banking Act of 2019, and as of 2023 the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, is proposed legislation regarding disposition of funds gained through the cannabis industry in the United States.
The Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act was a bill under consideration by the New York State Legislature during the 2020–2021 session to legalize cannabis. It was contained in Part H of the revenue bills embodying Governor Andrew Cuomo's budget proposal, A3009 and S2509.
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is a proposed bill in the United States Congress to recognize legalization of cannabis by the states. The authors are Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Cory Booker, and Senator Ron Wyden.
The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act is an Act of Congress allowing medical research on cannabis. The act is "the first standalone marijuana-related bill approved by both chambers of the United States Congress".
References
- ↑ "Lawmakers Call For An End To Federal Marijuana Prosecutions". NORML. 2009-06-18. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
- ↑ Cohn, Alicia (February 15, 2018). "Bipartisan bill offered in House to protect marijuana users in legal weed states". The Hill .
- 1 2 "There's a Mess of Legalization Bills in Congress. Here's What Really Matters". March 21, 2019.
- ↑ Herrington, A. J. (January 4, 2019). "Lawmakers Just Introduced The CARERS Act to Protect Medical Marijuana". High Times.
- ↑ Krane, Kris. "The Five Best U.S. Senators On Marijuana Policy". Forbes .
- ↑ Laslo, Matt (June 22, 2017). "Medical Marijuana: How Six Senators Are Leading the Fight". Rolling Stone .
- ↑ "Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Medical Marijuana Bill". Congressman Steve Cohen. January 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act reintroduced in 'the most pro-cannabis Congress in history'". The Washington Times.
- ↑ Daugherty, Owen (January 10, 2019). "House bill that would treat marijuana like alcohol named 'HR 420' in nod to cannabis culture". The Hill .
- ↑ "MARIJUANA REVENUE AND REGULATION ACT" (PDF).