A trio of top Democrats in the US Senate, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is seeking cosponsors for a marijuana legalization bill they plan to introduce on 4/20. Although the measure is unlikely to pass the US Congress this year, it may have a shot in 2025.
“Leader Schumer, Chair Wyden, and Senator Booker invite you to cosponsor the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), a comprehensive bill to decriminalize, regulate, and tax cannabis”, states a letter circulating among members of the United States Senate. The CAOA would require the US attorney general to finalize rules removing marijuana as a controlled substance within 180 days, place a 5% federal excise tax on marijuana producers that would increase to 12.5% by the fifth year, and establish the 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”.
Giving a knowing wink to marijuana consumers and supporters, the measure will be officially introduced on 4/20, the unofficial marijuana holiday.
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