Representative Earl Blumenauer [D-OR] introduced partisan legislation on Wednesday to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and regulate it like alcohol at the federal level.
HR420, also known as the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, was introduced and then referred to the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Natural Resources, and Agriculture committees.
“While the bill number may be a bit tongue in cheek, the issue is very serious, said Blumenauer in a press release. “Our federal marijuana laws are outdated, out of touch and have negatively impacted countless lives.”
Like California’s SB420 from 2003, the bill’s number is a reference to cannabis culture.
Blumenauer said that Congress cannot continue to be out of touch with a movement that an increasing majority of Americans support.
“Considering the shift in public opinion and state level leadership in legalizing medical and adult-use marijuana,” wrote Blumenauer in 2018 edition of The Path Forward report. “It’s time that Congress end the federal prohibition on marijuana, removing it from the Controlled Substances Act entirely and create a regulatory and taxation framework to guide the industry, similar to the frameworks in place for alcohol and tobacco.”
Along with Representative David Joyce [R-OH], Blumenauer introduced a bill into the House in June 2018 to protect legal cannabis states from federal interference. Cory Gardner [R-OH] and Elizabeth Warren [D-MA] also introduced a companion bill into the Senate.
