Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will introduce a bill Wednesday that would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and allow federal, state and local governments to tax the sale of marijuana, the New York Times reports.
Called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, the move would decriminalize the cultivation, processing, sales and possession of cannabis and products containing significant amounts of THC, a significant signal that the federal “war on drugs” was largely unsuccessful.
The move would also allow existing cannabis-based businesses in states that have legalized pot for both medical and recreational use to use federally-insured banking institutions, a barrier for many such businesses to use credit card processing and other financial services.
Bill co-author Cory Booker, a Democratic Senator from New Jersey, said the legislation is meant to “finally turn the page on this dark chapter in American history and begin righting these wrongs.” Booker wrote the bill with Schumer and Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden.
While the legislation has significant support, including from some Republican libertarian-leaning Senators, it is unclear if it has enough support in the Senate to pass due to some Democratic Senators still on the fence about the issue.