United States Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, has announced his support for legalizing marijuana.
“It’s time to legalize marijuana across the country,” Senator Brown stated in a post on the social media platform X. Although he didn’t elaborate further, this marks the first time Senator Brown has declared support for legalization. In previous years, the senator supported decriminalizing marijuana but hesitated to endorse full legalization.
Senator Brown’s support comes just weeks after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with 17 co-sponsors, filed legislation to deschedule marijuana and establish safety and regulatory standards, as well as a federal excise tax on legal marijuana sales. The bill would also allow for expungements of marijuana-related offenses.
In September, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee passed the SAFER Banking Act to the full Senate with bipartisan support. During the process, Senator Brown advocated for the committee to pass the measure, which it did with a 14 to 9 vote.
In his statement on X, Senator Brown linked to an article about the recent news that marijuana is being moved to Schedule III, indicating that he believes this change does not go far enough—a sentiment shared by many of his colleagues.
