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As the draft bill jump-starts discussion on Capitol Hill, here's a take a look at where cannabis legalization might go. Isn't pot currently legal in many states? What would a federal expense do? Weed has actually been totally legislated for recreational usage in 18 states, starting with Colorado and Washington in 2012. A total of 37 states have actually approved medical marijuana.
But marijuana is still unlawful under federal law, where it is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Possession of marijuana stays a federal offense, punishable by up to one year in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first conviction. Due to the fact that of federal restrictions, marijuana manufacturers and retailers face significant logistical challenges with banking, transporting goods and paying taxes, even in states where the drug is legal.
Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and California's then-Sen. Kamala Harris, now vice president, presented legislation in both chambers of Congress that would have decriminalized cannabis and expunged some rap sheets, to name a few things. Your home passed the legislation in a 228-164 vote in December 2020. It was the very first time legislation to eliminate marijuana from the Schedule I list made it to a floor vote.
What does the new draft legislation do? Find Out More Here is partially based on in 2015's failed effort. It proposes eliminating federal charges for cannabis, expunging criminal records for nonviolent offenders of federal marijuana laws, allocating financing for corrective justice programs, developing tax rates for cannabis products and officially allowing states to choose whether to legislate pot.
In locations where weed is still unlawful, state federal governments can opt to keep it that method. Nevertheless, without federal restriction, pot-unfriendly states would not be able to avoid interstate transportation of marijuana. Those states would likewise lose out on tax profits. Cannabis advocates predict state federal governments could be pushed towards legalization if the federal draft expense was to be signed into law."While it wouldn't inform Nebraska you have to legislate marijuana, it would say you need to enable marijuana that's being transported from California to Ohio to be able to go through on your interstate highway system," stated Justin Strekal, political director of the National Company for the Reform of Cannabis Laws.