House Democrats introduce a bill to legalize marijuana and provide 'restorative justice' to communities impacted by the 'war on drugs'
- House Democrats introduced the Marijuana Justice Act to federally legalize marijuana.
- The bill lays the groundwork for an "inclusive" marijuana industry by expunging federal arrest records and establishing a community reinvestment fund that helps former convicts enter the legal industry.
- The bill is a companion to Sen. Cory Booker's legislation introduced in the Senate in 2017.
A group of House Democrats on Wednesday introduced a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level and expunge the federal arrest records of those incarcerated for marijuana use and possession.
The bill, introduced by California Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna and co-sponsored by twelve House Democrats, is a companion to Sen. Cory Booker's Marijuana Justice Act, which Booker introduced to the Senate in 2017.
Beyond removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, the bill goes a step further to provide "restorative justice," to communities disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests and create an "inclusive industry from the ground up," Lee said in a Wednesday afternoon call with reporters.
Lee called the legislation, "a bold proposal to reverse decades of discriminatory drug enforcement and to bring federal marijuana policy in line with the wishes of the American people."
Here's what the Marijuana Justice Act does
To do that, the bill will create a $500 million community reinvestment fund that will focus on job training for the nascent cannabis industry and will prioritize communities that have suffered a disproportionate number of marijuana arrests for recreational-sales licenses.
The bill will also cut federal funding for state law enforcement and prison construction if the state disproportionately arrests low-income or people of color for marijuana offenses. Part of the community reinvestment fund will be funded through these cuts.
"It's the reverse of the 1994 Crime Bill," Sen. Cory Booker said on the same call. "It creates incentives for states to change their marijuana laws."
While the House bill already has twelve Democratic co-sponsors, no Republicans have signed on to either the Senate or House version yet.
Marijuana is legal for adult use in eight states, and a further 29 states have some form of medical marijuana legalization on the books.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, however, is an opponent of marijuana. Sessions rescinded Obama-era rules directing the Justice Department to keep its hands off of state-legal cannabis businesses earlier this month. His move leaves it up to state prosecutors - many of which are appointed on an interim basis - to decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana.
Getting Republicans on board
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Colorado Republican Senator Cory Gardner and California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, decried Sessions' move, which Khanna pointed to on the call as a sign of the new bill's "momentum."
A bill introduced by Rohrabacher - which already has 39 cosponsors, many Republicans among them - would prevent the federal government from prosecuting cannabis businesses and consumers that comply with state law but does not go as far as federal legalization.
According to a recent Gallup poll, marijuana legalization is a bipartisan issue: 60% of Americans and 51% of Republicans support it.
"We're going to get the federal government out of the state's business," Booker added, in an overture to his Republican colleagues.
As to whether the Marijuana Justice Act will be successful, Khanna said that at the very least, it would "force a national conversation on this issue."
"The highest form of political leadership is shaping a conversation," Khanna said. "And Sen. Booker and Rep. Lee are providing that leadership."