The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) has received a committee assignment in the US Senate.
The CAOA was filed on May 1 by a coalition of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. It has now received its first committee assignment, the Senate Finance Committee. which is chaired by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who is cosponsoring the measure.
The CAOA would require the federal government to remove marijuana as a controlled substance within 180 days of the bill’s passage, while also placing a federal excise tax on legal marijuana sales; the tax would start at 5% and rise to 12.5% by the fifth year. The proposal would also establish federal safety and regulatory standards for legal marijuana, 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 CAOA would allow states to prohibit marijuana sales, but they could not prohibit interstate or interjurisdictional transportation of marijuana and marijuana products. The proposal would also allow for the expungement of past marijuana offenses, and federal employment marijuana testing would be banned in most instances.
“It’s past time for the federal government to catch up to the attitudes of the American people when it comes to cannabis,” said Leader Schumer when introducing the bill. “That’s why we’re reintroducing the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, legislation that would finally end the federal prohibition on cannabis while prioritizing safety, research, workers’ rights and restorative justice. We have more work to do to address decades of over-criminalization, particularly in communities of color, but today’s reintroduction shows the movement is growing, and I will keep working until we achieve meaningful change.”
Senator Ron Wyden says “Our comprehensive Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act doesn’t tell states what to do—but it provides them with the tools to effectively implement the laws their voters and legislators choose Public health, public safety, opportunity and social justice must be at the core of any cannabis reform proposal, and it’s crucial stakeholders continue to have a seat at the table. I look forward to working with my colleagues and advocates across the country to make these priorities a reality.”
For the full text of the CAOA, click here.
Legislation in the House of Representatives that would also deschedule marijuana —the MORE ACT— has 88 sponsors.
