The DEA is moving marijuana to Schedule III, but that’s not stopping some lawmakers from fighting for further marijuana reform. Here’s an overview of the five most popular marijuana-related bills currently active in the US Congress.
Recently the Department of Justice confirmed that the process to move marijuana to Schedule III is underway. Although this will legalize marijuana for prescription use, numerous lawmakers —including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Vice President Kamala Harris— have said that this does not go far enough, and they continue to fight for further reform.
With that in mind, below are the five most popular bills currently being promoted in the US Congress:
The SAFE / SAFER Banking Act
The SAFE and SAFER Banking Acts have a combined 154 sponsors in the US House of Representatives and Senate. Although they differ slightly in their specific language, both measures would allow banks and credit unions to provide financial services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law. The proposals would also allow marijuana businesses to take standard IRS tax deductions that they are currently not allowed to do.
In the House, the SAFE Banking Act has 118 sponsors, more than any other marijuana-related bill in US history. In the Senate, the SAFER Banking Act has 36 sponsors, and was approved through the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in September with bipartisan support.
The SAFER Banking Act has the support of the National Conference of State Legislatures, as well as a bipartisan group of 22 attorneys general.
The MORE Act / The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act in the House currently has 88 sponsors, more than any marijuana-related bill other than the SAFE Banking Act. The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) in the Senate was recently filed with 18 sponsors. However, unlike the SAFE and SAFER Banking Acts, the MORE Act and the CAOA are sponsored exclusively by Democrats.
Both the MORE Act and CAOA would fully deschedule marijuana, removing it from the federal Controlled Substances Act. This would effectively decriminalize the plant nationwide, while allowing states to decide their own marijuana policies. Both measures would also allow for the expungement of past marijuana offenses. Both would place a federal excise tax on state-legal marijuana sales.
The CAOA would take things a step further by creating federal regulations and safety standards for legal marijuana products, including establishing a Center for Cannabis Products within the FDA, tasked with regulating “the production, labeling, distribution, sales, and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry.”
The MORE Act passed the full House when Democrats were in control in 2022. At the time, Democrats were tied with the Republicans in the number of Senate seats held. If Democrats retake the House in 2024 while retaining the Senate, it’s expected the two chambers will try to coalesce the two bills in order to try and get it approved through Congress and sent to President Biden.
Veterans Equal Access Act
The Veterans Equal Access Act was filed in September and currently has 29 bipartisan sponsors.
The measure would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to authorize providers to discuss medical marijuana with veterans and recommend its use if the patient is located in a legal marijuana state and the physician believes it could be beneficial.
Under current law, physicians at the VA are prohibited from discussing marijuana with their patients, and veterans who receive care from VA facilities cannot receive the forms required to participate in medical marijuana programs – regardless of whether the state they reside in has legalized it for medical use. The Veterans Equal Access Act would change this by providing federal protection to VA doctors who discuss and recommend medical cannabis.
The STATES 2.0 Act
The STATES 2.0 Act was filed in December by State Representative Dave Joyce (R). Although the measure only has 10 sponsors, it has strong bipartisan support.
The measure would amend the Federal Controlled Substances Act so that those acting in compliance with state drug laws would no longer be committing a federal crime. The measure would also explicitly allow marijuana commerce between legal marijuana states and tribes, and it would amend an IRS regulation (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.
In addition, the STATES Act would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on the impacts of marijuana legalization on traffic safety.
The HOPE Act
In April 2023, the HOPE Act was filed in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. In April of this year, a Senate companion bill was filed by Senator Jackie Rosen (D-NV).
The legislation would authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) “to make grants to states and local governments to reduce the financial and administrative burden of expunging convictions for state cannabis offenses.” It would also “requires DOJ to study and report on (1) the effects on an individual of a criminal record report of a conviction for a criminal offense related to cannabis, and (2) the costs incurred for incarcerating an individual for a criminal offense related to cannabis.”
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to include the language of the HOPE Act within the language of the SAFER Banking Act before it’s considered by the full chamber.
