AND --->
As Bernie Sanders states ---> This session, advocates are focused on a marijuana descheduling bill that’s being led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). After introducing a discussion draft of the legislation in July, the senators opened a comment period to get public input on its provisions before the bill is finalized.
That comment window closed on Wednesday, and much of the feedback focused on issues of social equity, licensing, tax policy and interstate commerce.
There have been some serious questions about whether the senators will be able to muster the 60 votes needed to pass the legislation in their chamber.
Even with a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, there are some members of Schumer’s own party who’ve expressed concerns about the comprehensive reform.
President Joe Biden’s position on cannabis presents another complication. Minutes after the senators unveiled the bill, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked at a briefing about the administration’s position on the legislation and said “nothing has changed” with respect to Biden’s opposition to adult-use legalization.
Sanders said ---> last month that Biden ---> could and ---> should use executive authority to end federal marijuana prohibition on his own—but the two of them have “differences” when it comes to drug policy.
As a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020 himself,
---> Sanders pledged that he would legalize marijuana across the country on his first day in office if elected.