Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with 13 other Democratic original cosponsors, reintroduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) to end the federal prohibition of marijuana and establish a regulatory framework governing its production, sale, and use.
“A fair administrative process should include the voices of those most directly affected by federal cannabis policy: consumers, patients, and the communities that have lived under prohibition. Excluding NORML from this hearing deprives the record of that perspective.”
NORML argues that the hearing record will be incomplete unless it includes the perspective of adult cannabis consumers — the constituency NORML has represented for more than fifty years.
“These facts compel the federal government to recognize that marijuana can be legitimate in terms of medical applications.”
The following primer seeks to provide clarity to frequently asked questions surrounding cannabis rescheduling and its policy implications.
“While such a move potentially provides some benefits to patients, and veterans especially, it still falls well short of the changes necessary to bring federal marijuana policy into the 21st century.”
Now is not the time for the cannabis community to rest on the laurels of its past successes or to presume that someone else is going to finish the job.
“This legislation embodies the wishes of more than two thirds of the American public, and will create a federal cannabis framework that respects states’ rights and is focused on science, pragmatism, and justice.”