There have never been so many bills submitted and they have more sponsors than ever – including some with support among Utah’s Congressional delegation. The questions are which measures will gain traction in Congress and be passed – and when.
Reform will have a major impact on the course of state programs. A bill sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer would be especially impactful, by basically taking cannabis out of federal law enforcement’s purview – leaving its regulation up to the states.
This would make its regulation much more akin to how alcohol is regulated by every state in the nation – both before Prohibition in 1919 and after its repeal in 1933, i.e., it would go a long way in restoring the Tenth Amendment’s supremacy in this area of law.
However, more limited measures may have a more realistic chance of passing sooner. This article is about a new House bill sponsors say will “open the floodgates for medicinal cannabis research.”
The bill has considerable bipartisan support with 25 co-sponsors from both parties, and significantly is being led by a Republican lawmaker in the more-resistant-to-reform House of Representatives.
“Congressperson, Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is optimistic about the act’s chances of getting passed.
‘I have a high level of confidence that it will be marked up and passed out of the House Judiciary Committee, which will be historic,’ said Gaetz. ‘Never before in Republican control of the Congress has the Judiciary committee even taken up the issue of cannabis reform. And, certainly under Dem and GOP control of Congress, we’ve moved far too slowly’.”
We heartily agree with that last sentence.
We haven’t compared them in detail, but this bill – the “Medical Cannabis Research Act of 2018” certainly has some general similarities to a Senate bill that Utah’s Senator Hatch has signed onto, the “Marijuana Effective Drug Study Act of 2017,” or MEDS Act.”
Utah’s Rob Bishop is also a sponsor of a House version of the MEDS Act – and a melding of the two if Congress moves to action would seem a possibility.
More about the MEDS Act….
From Senator Hatch’s Office:
https://ift.tt/2y77FpZ
And from Congressperson Bishop’s: https://ift.tt/2r9rOpl
The House MEDS act is also supported by Utah Reps Chis Stewart, Mia Love, and John Curtis.
More on the overall federal reform proposal landscape:
https://ift.tt/2DI6xsF
In short, reform momentum continues to build. “In long,” the devil remains in the details, but the 90% support for medical cannabis means that eventually Congress will come to reflect this nearly unanimous and enduring consensus among the American people as time passes….
#MMJ #UTpol #USpol #Reform #UtahNext #TRUCE
See full article – Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce The Medical Cannabis Research Act To Capitol Hill
