Legislation in the US House of Representatives that would protect state marijuana laws and those following them has gained its ninth legislative sponsor.
The STATES (Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States) Act 2.0 was filed in December by Representative Dave Joyce (R) with four cosponsors. Now, that number has more than doubled to nine, with Congressmember Max Miller (R-OH) the most recent to join the list late last month.
If passed into law the STATES Act would amend the Controlled Substances so that those acting in compliance with state marijuana laws would no longer be committing a federal crime, and it would allow commerce between legal marijuana states and tribes
The measure would also amend an IRS law (section 280E) that prohibits businesses from taking tax deductions if they run a federally illegal business, even if the business is properly following their state’s laws. This would allow state-legal marijuana businesses to take standard tax deductions.
Finally, the legislation would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on the impacts of marijuana legalization on traffic safety.
“The current federal approach to cannabis policy infringes on the rights of states to implement their own laws, stifling critical medical research, hurting legitimate businesses, and diverting vital law enforcement resources needed elsewhere,” says Congressman Joyce, Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. “The STATES Act does what every federal bill should do – help all 50 states succeed. This bill respects the will of the states that have legalized cannabis in some form and allows them to implement their own policies without fear of repercussion from the federal government.”
In October Representative Nancy Mace (R) filed a somewhat similar measure, the States Reform Act, which would “Federally decriminalizes cannabis and fully defers to state powers over prohibition and commercial regulation.” Currently that measure, which also has bipartisan support, has five sponsors.
