Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has made one thing very clear: He supports weed. In his March 2021 fundraising email to his supporters, he was very transparent.

“Voters in four additional states voted in this election to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana, proving once again that it’s time to undo the harm done by wrong priorities, especially in black and brown communities,” he wrote road. “It’s time to legalize marijuana nationwide.”

these are from senator He has been speaking out on marijuana legislation for years. Let’s see how close the US is to legalization.

new path to legalization

The good news for cannabis patients and enthusiasts is that Schumer’s words are being backed up by action.

This spring, Schumer began working with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) to release a draft bill to end federal marijuana prohibit.

As written, Schumer claimed the bill would be implemented soon, but did not say how long.

It’s unclear what exactly the bill will contain. However, there is speculation that it will establish decriminalisation before full legalisation.

It is expected to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances and promote social justice.

Schumer claimed the bill would specifically seek to limit the ability of the big tobacco and alcohol companies to outperform the industry, instead prioritizing small businesses, especially those owned by those in the communities most affected by the ban.

In the House, Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said he plans to reintroduce his Cannabis Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Elimination (MORE) Act legalization bill, which passed the House last year, But no progress has been made in the Republican-controlled Senate.

With Democrats controlling both chambers and a majority in the White House, there is optimism that sweeping reforms are within reach.

Step by step, state by state

The 2020 election saw four victories in legalizing marijuana at the state level. Arizona, New Jersey, South Dakota and Montana all received enough votes to legalize recreational marijuana in their respective states, bringing the total number of recreational legal states to 15.

Additionally, Mississippi voters approved a regulation to legalize medical marijuana during the 2020 election, an important step for the conservative state. However,
In May 2021, the effort took a step back when the state Supreme Court rejected the referendum on the grounds that it did not meet the state constitution’s requirement that 20 percent of the signatures come from each of the five congressional districts (one given Mississippi’s Going from five to four regions after 2000 and failing to update the language in its constitution, an impossible feat). This is believed to be the first time a medical marijuana initiative has been overturned following approval at the residents’ ballot box. It remains to be seen whether the issue will come up again in the 2022 ballot.

Minnesota and Nebraska are also expected to turn the issue over to voters in 2022 after their legalization bills failed to pass their respective legislatures. Finally, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the medical marijuana legalization bill in May 2021, marking another important step forward for the conservative state.

Give cannabis a boost

Hemp was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to finalize the process for allowing derivatives like CBD to be used in consumer products like food, beverages and dietary supplements. A new Senate bill hopes to change that.

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) (the same senator who worked with Schumer on marijuana legalization), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Marijuana Access and Consumer Safety Act , the bill would exempt “marijuana, hemp-derived cannabidiol, or substances containing any other constituent of marijuana,” restrictions that have hindered the emergence of legal consumer cannabis products.

The bill also allows officials to establish labeling and packaging requirements for hemp-derived products.

In the press release, Wyden explained, “CBD products are legal to use and manufacture nationwide. However, consumers and producers remain in a regulatory gray area due to the FDA’s failure to update its regulations… For American consumers and farmers, the FDA Participation in the program is long overdue.” As of this writing, the bill has not passed. However, if or when it does so, it will provide relief to cannabis growers, processors and merchants across the United States ?