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babylonsister

(171,090 posts)
Sat Nov 20, 2021, 09:00 AM Nov 2021

U.S. Republicans move to decriminalize marijuana at federal level

Bring it on. Do SOMETHING for once.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-republicans-move-decriminalize-marijuana-federal-level-2021-11-15/

Reuters home
November 15, 20213:56 PM ESTLast Updated 5 days ago
REUTERS/Mike Segar


WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on Monday that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and eliminate legal hazards facing many cannabis-related businesses while regulating its use like alcohol.

snip//

It would prohibit marijuana use by those under 21, restrict advertising, protect access to hiring and benefits for veterans who have used cannabis and expunge the records of people convicted on nonviolent, cannabis-only related offenses.

The bill diverges in several important ways from draft legislation proposed in July by Senate Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Mace's bill would impose a 3% excise tax on cannabis, compared to an increasing Senate tax proposal that would top out at around 25%.

Where the Senate proposal would give the Food and Drug Administration a primary oversight role, the Republican legislation limits FDA involvement to medical marijuana and makes the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau the primary regulator for interstate commerce.

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jimfields33

(15,948 posts)
7. Depends on where it goes.
Sat Nov 20, 2021, 10:45 AM
Nov 2021

If they put it towards the BBB money, that would be perfect. For example, add it to the pre-K funding then it would be a great use of the tax.

Response to babylonsister (Original post)

asiliveandbreathe

(8,203 posts)
3. There is money in them there hills...Of course "all aboard" - at state level in Arizona
Sat Nov 20, 2021, 09:24 AM
Nov 2021

A lawsuit filed Thursday seeks to stop Arizona’s social-equity marijuana shop program and prevent big dispensaries from snapping up the 26 lucrative licenses that are intended to help people harmed by old marijuana laws.


https://roselawgroupreporter.com/2021/11/program-to-create-social-equity-licenses-for-marijuana-shops-in-arizona-hit-with-lawsuit/


BadgerKid

(4,555 posts)
8. Right move but all-business with neutered oversight.
Sat Nov 20, 2021, 10:47 AM
Nov 2021

Whether EPA, FDA, finance, or other, GOPs will dismantle oversight.

Response to babylonsister (Original post)

malaise

(269,157 posts)
12. John Boehner moved from Speaker to Ganja promoter (2019)
Sat Nov 20, 2021, 03:43 PM
Nov 2021

All of my friends in Jamaica laughed loud because his daughter married a Yardie who clearly talked sense into his head

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/16/704086782/john-boehner-was-once-unalterably-opposed-to-marijuana-he-now-wants-it-to-be-leg



John Boehner has been known to enjoy the occasional adult beverage. He famously nicknamed his negotiations over raising the nation's debt ceiling in 2011 the "Nicorettes and Merlot sessions." Nicorette because that's what President Obama would chew during the talks. Merlot because that was the drink of choice for the former speaker of the House.

These days, the Ohio Republican has expanded his view of what should and should not count as a socially acceptable vice. He's no longer just a wine enthusiast. Rather, he's emerged as one of the most vocal advocates in the GOP for marijuana legalization.

To be sure, Boehner says he has never tried marijuana. "I've never used the product. I really have no plans to use the product," he told host Michel Martin in an interview for NPR's All Things Considered. "But if other people use the product," Boehner said, "who am I to say they shouldn't?"

His embrace of marijuana legalization marks a sharp reversal for Boehner since his time in Congress. In 1999, in his one and only vote on the issue, he voted to prohibit medicinal marijuana in Washington, D.C. In 2011, he wrote a constituent to say he was "unalterably opposed to the legalization of marijuana."

Wake up world ReTHUGs are fucking hypocrites. They will do anything for money.

msfiddlestix

(7,286 posts)
13. Good, it's about effin time
Sat Nov 20, 2021, 03:44 PM
Nov 2021

I wonder which repukes leading this?

corporate funders wanted to capitalize ad monopolize this market for decades. looks like they're going to get their wish. I just hope they don't rig in their favor completely.

sciencescience

(109 posts)
15. Dems need to learn from past ills of other industries and get ahead of the problems
Sat Nov 20, 2021, 04:29 PM
Nov 2021

Inevitably, large corporations will try to corner the market, pay low wages, jack up prices, cut corners on quality, etc. Dems should put in place transparency and reporting laws for all of this stuff now to prevent these types of things from starting.

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