US Senate and US House of Representatives lawmakers are throwing around the pros and cons about legalizing marijuana on the federal level.
Although still prohibited by federal statute, the use of medical marijuana is today legal in 37 states plus the District of Columbia and four US territories; adult-use for recreational purposes is legal in 18 states.
Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act
On Wednesday, March 30 the US House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) by a vote of 220 to 204.
The MORE Act removes cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and “… requires courts to expunge convictions of nonviolent marijuana offenders.” It also throws out federal criminal penalties for distributing, growing and/or possessing cannabis. MORE places a tax on cannabis “… to help communities impacted by decades of policing focused on nonviolent crimes related to marijuana use.”
The House’s slim passage of MORE suggests that a great deal of controversy exists about the “how tos” of legalizing pot on the federal level. Predictions are that the bill will unlikely pass the Senate.
Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
Even with their likely rejection of MORE, Senators are not turning a blind eye to the need for cannabis reform. They are working on their own bill – The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (PDF) – to legalize cannabis on the federal level.
The hope is that this legislation, authored by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D – NY) and Senators Cory Booker (D – NJ) and Ron Wyden (D – OR) will be introduced later this month.
Senators Schumer, Booker and Wyman have expressed that an urgency exists for federal cannabis reform. “They point to the fact that today more than 90 percent of Americans believe cannabis should be legal for either adult or medical use,” states an article by Wilson Elser posted at Lexology.com.
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act removes cannabis from the CSA and provides for the establishment of a new definition of cannabis within the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Further, the bill allows states to craft their own marijuana laws. The bill authorizes a federal tax on cannabis to generate funds to “… support restorative justice and public health and safety research.”
Conflicts in Laws When Texans Travel to Lea County to Buy and Use Pot
Lea County borders parts of Texas. The recreational use of cannabis is illegal in Texas, whereas it is now legal in New Mexico, including Lea County. The borders between Texas and New Mexico are open, and no law prohibits Texans from traveling to Lea County or any other part of New Mexico to purchase and/or consume cannabis products, as long as the actions of these individuals comply with New Mexico’s laws.
The problem evolves when these Texans return to Texas where the possession and/or use of marijuana is illegal.
Paul Armento, Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), shines light on the issue. According to Armento, Texas is one of the leading states for arrests for marijuana possession. In Texas such possession is punishable by “up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.” Texans can face prison time and huge fines if they are attested in Texas possessing pot products they legally purchased in New Mexico.
More Problems
The problem does not stop between state lines. Under federal law pot is illegal to use, possess and/or sell on federal land and Indian reservations. These lands are vast in New Mexico, even though sparse in Texas. These lands are controlled by federal law, and cannabis remains illegal on them, even if purchased legally in New Mexico.
The conflicts between state and federal laws, additionally, create havoc in the business world, especially when it comes to the financial sector. The problem is proving burdensome to cannabis businesesses establishing facilities in Lea County.
Whether state or federally chartered, federal agencies provide regulatory oversight and insurance to banks and the like. These agencies, also, provide “access to funding and payment systems”.
Federally cannabis remains a Schedule 1 substance under the CSA and is illegal. An article published by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association explains that under today’s law financial institutions that provide services to state-licensed cannabis businesses or to businesses that sell goods and services to the cannabis industry could have problems. These institutions could be held criminally or civilly liable on the federal level and “subject to regulatory sanctions under certain federal banking statutes”.
With so many conflicts between state and federal laws, folks are often at a loss of understanding what is and what is not legal.
According to Senators Schumer, Booker and Wyman, “Hundreds of millions of Americans live in states that have legalized cannabis in some form while it remains illegal at the federal level.” Such discrepancy “… breeds confusion and uncertainty and raises questions in areas from small-business growth to public safety.”
