Last month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with 17 cosponsors, filed federal legislation to deschedule and legalize marijuana in the United States Senate. Over a month later, no new sponsors have joined the list.
There are currently 24 states that have legalized recreational marijuana, with a few more expected to join by the end of the year. Despite this, less than half of these states have U.S. senators sponsoring the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). Currently, 10 of the 24 states have senators endorsing the measure, with Georgia and Pennsylvania being the two states that have not legalized marijuana but have senators supporting the move nationwide.
Below are the states with U.S. Senators sponsoring the CAOA:
- California
- Colorado
- Massachusetts
- New York
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New Mexico
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
- Washington
Below are the states that have legalized marijuana but do not have Senators sponsoring the CAOA:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Rhode Island
- Virginia
- Ohio
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 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.
For the full text of the CAOA, click here.
