A Republican lawmaker from North Carolina plans to refile federal legislation next year designed to withhold funds from states and tribes that have legalized marijuana.
The Stop Pot Act was filed in September by Representative Chuck Edwards (R-NC). Initially filed without any cosponsors, the measure currently has four, all Republican. The proposed law would withhold 10% of the federal highway funds a state receives if they allow legal marijuana sales.
Recently a spokesperson for Rick Crawford, Chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, said the Stop Pot Act “will not receive committee consideration this year”, indicating that it is effectively dead for this legislative session (which runs January 2023 to December 2024).
Now, a communications staffer for Congressmember Edwards tells us that he “intends to refile the Stop Pot Act in the next legislative session”, making it clear that he will not stop his fight to punish states that legalize marijuana.
It’s worth noting that despite garnering only five sponsors in eight months, and despite receiving no consideration in a Republican-controlled committee, the Stop Pot Act is the most prominent anti-marijuana bill currently active in the US Congress.
On the pro-marijuana side, the House’s MORE Act to deschedule marijuana has 88 sponsors, while the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act in the Senate —which would deschedule marijuana while also establishing federal safety and regulatory standards for legal marijuana sales— has 18 sponsors. The SAFE and SAFER Banking Acts to allow marijuana banking have a combined 154 sponsors.
For a look at the five states that could legalize marijuana this year, click here. For a breakdown of every active marijuana-related bill in the US Congress, click here.
