Pot popularity
Pot. Weed. Grass. The devil’s lettuce. Whatever it’s called, marijuana use in the United States is booming. Public opinions may be changing quickly, but on Capitol Hill, support for marijuana legalization reform is stalled.
The House of Representatives voted twice in the last two years to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. The Senate has failed to bring the bill up for debate despite Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) saying marijuana reform is one of his top priorities.
While marijuana reform stagnates at the federal level, individual states are moving forward with plans of their own.
Pot-law patchwork
Even when sober, understanding the breakdown of where pot is legal and illegal can be hazy.
Anyone is free to use marijuana however they’d like in 18 states, including California, New York, and Illinois. Another 19 states have either legalized medical marijuana, allowed for some decriminalized recreational use, or both. Nebraska and North Carolina both decriminalized marijuana but don’t have medical marijuana programs. Seven states let some patients use low doses of marijuana but only in certain forms. And finally marijuana, in all its forms, is completely illegal in four states, including South Carolina.
Confused?”It is confusing, because you have this sort of patchwork,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said. “As states have implemented cannabis reform, you’ve seen what’s worked well and what hasn’t worked well. It’s not necessarily the easiest thing to do. You want to make sure that you’re responsible with [marijuana reform], and different states have different priorities.”
Mace, a GOP member in a state where marijuana remains (as of May 2022) completely illegal, is the author of the States Reform Act (SRA).
“When I tell people what the bill does, even the die-hard conservatives support it,” Mace said. “When they realize, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re just protecting the rights of states and my state can do what they want to do? Oh my gosh, heck yes!’”
What’s States Reform?
It’s been called “the most comprehensive framework for the decriminalization of cannabis at the federal level introduced by Congressional Republicans.” To date, however, the SRA hasn’t received the same sort of traction or media coverage as the MORE Act.
Former NYPD Officer Jillian Snider is the Director of Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties at the non-partisan think tank R Street. She was at the introduction ceremony for the States Reform Act.
“I think the reason that [the SRA] didn’t get as much momentum, or a lot of people haven’t heard a lot about it is because it was introduced in the fall,” Snider said. “We all know Congress is busy towards the end of the year.”
Snider said with the MORE Act stalled again, and the 2022 Midterm elections fast approaching, the table could be set for the States Reform Act to take the spotlight.
What’s the difference?
Like the MORE Act, Mace’s bill decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level, allows for interstate commerce and expunges convictions for non-violent marijuana-related offenses.
The SRA also creates an excise tax on marijuana sales, but key differences exist.
The Democrat-backed MORE Act creates a 5% excise tax on marijuana, which grows to 8% after three years. Schumer’s version of a marijuana reform bill, which hasn’t been introduced yet, is said to start with a 10% excise tax that balloons to 25% within five years. The SRA caps excise taxes at 3%.
“I worked narcotics as a cop,” Snider said, “When things are illegal, or things are legal but just so ridiculously taxed, it’s still allowing room for black market flourishment. So, if you’re making it that difficult to legally cultivate and sell marijuana, because the taxes are 8%, you’re still going to have that illegal element.
“There’s going to be criminality because people don’t want to pay that,” Snider continued. “So with having a modest, smart level of excise tax, that’s really going to keep criminal behavior at bay. People who want to get into the marijuana space legally, they’re going to be able to do it.”
Follow the money
Under Congresswoman Mace’s bill, the tax revenue generated through excise taxes would be split among the Department of Justice, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services. These disbursements are similar to those of the MORE Act, but obviously the actual amounts distributed differ.
SRA also sets the minimum age to buy marijuana at 21. The MORE Act didn’t set an age limit.
Mace calls the States Reform Act a “compromise bill“, saying there’s something in it to make everyone happy.
“We need to remember every electorate is different, and we are a Republic and we do things in a manner that makes the most sense,” Mace said. “[The States Reform Act] will also stand up in court, stand up to the Constitution, stand up to the Supreme Court.”
Make no mistake: marijuana reform is a mostly politically agnostic issue. More than ¾ of U.S. adults already live in a state with some form of legalized pot, and more than 90% of U.S. adults say pot should at least be legal for medical purposes.