Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Federal Marijuana Prohibition End? (H.R. 420)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 420?

(Updated June 22, 2021)

This bill — the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act — would remove marijuana from all schedules of the Controlled Substances Act, thereby making it legal, and allow states to choose how they want to regulate the substance. At the federal level, marijuana oversight would be transferred from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to the to-be renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). 


It would still be illegal under federal law to import marijuana into a state where it is illegal from outside the U.S. The Dept. of the Treasury would be responsible for regulating interstate and international marijuana businesses, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would have the same powers to regulate marijuana as it does alcohol.

Argument in favor

The majority of U.S. states have already legalized marijuana in some form, and legal marijuana sales will generate much needed tax revenue for the government.

Argument opposed

Increased tax revenue would be offset by higher public costs for health care, criminal justice, lost workplace productivity, and increased access to the drug for minors.

Impact

Anyone who uses marijuana products, marijuana dispensaries and producers, local law enforcement, the DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and related federal regulators.

Cost of H.R. 420

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair and founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, reintroduced this bill from the 114th Congress to end the federal prohibition of marijuana and regulate cannabis like alcohol:

"While the [H.R. 420] bill number may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, the issue is very serious. Our federal marijuana laws are outdated, out of touch and have negatively impacted countless lives. Congress cannot continue to be out of touch with a movement that a growing majority of Americans support.  It’s time to end this senseless prohibition.”
Rep. Blumenauer is optimistic about the odds of this bill's passage in the current Congress, due to the 116th Congress's "pro-cannabis" attitude:
"This will be the most pro-cannabis Congress in history. We’ve had a number of people who’ve stepped up, who’ve taken a stand, campaigned on it. I’ve talked to over five dozen of the new people and they’re very open-minded or, actually very supportive.”
In the 114th Congress, Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) (who's now the governor of Colorado) introduced this bill to end the federal prohibition of marijuana:
"Colorado has proven that allowing responsible adults to legally purchase marijuana, gives money to classrooms, not cartels; creates jobs, not addicts; and boosts our economy, not our prison population. Now, more than ever, it is time we end the federal prohibition on marijuana and remove barriers for states’ that have chosen to legalize marijuana.  This budding industry can’t afford to be stifled by the Trump administration and its mixed-messages about marijuana."
This bill doesn't have any cosponsors in the current Congress. In the 114th Congress, it had the support of 19 cosponsors in the House, including 18 Democrats and one Republican.


Media:
Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Pixabay / Public Domain)