Sanders bill would remove marijuana from Controlled Substances Act, allow states to establish cannabis policies

Legislation would “mov[e] our nation toward a more rational approach to marijuana, consistent with what the American people want.”

Washington, DC – The National Cannabis Industry Association today applauded new legislation to be introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and allow it to be regulated similarly to alcohol. That approach would allow states that choose a legal, regulated approach to marijuana to move forward without federal interference and allow banking access and fair taxation to state-compliant cannabis businesses. (Read Senator Sanders’s prepared remarks, delivered on the Senate floor earlier today.)

“More than half of Americans now live in states where marijuana is legal in some form. And more than half of Americans now say marijuana should be fully legal,” said NCIA executive director Aaron Smith. “Federal law should respect these states, these voters, and the responsible cannabis businesses they support.

“Sen. Sanders’s bill would give state-legal cannabis businesses the fairness they deserve, treating them like any other law-abiding, job-creating, tax-paying small business.

“Our industry applauds Sen. Sanders for his leadership in moving our nation toward a more rational approach to marijuana, consistent with what the American people want.”

Sen. Sanders’s legislation would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and allow states to set and enforce their own marijuana policies without federal interference. This would not only give each state the freedom to choose its approach, but also remove the many unintended consequences of the current conflict between state and federal marijuana laws. The most critical of these are the lack of banking access for cannabis businesses and the outdated 280E tax code provision which forces legal marijuana businesses to pay effective federal tax rates of 50% to 85%, a crippling burden for businesses doing their best to play by the rules.

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