Hard-right conservative Mike Johnson, chosen by House Republicans on Wednesday to be the chamber’s new speaker, has been a staunch opponent of marijuana reform in Congress.
The elevation of the socially conservative Louisiana Republican might bode ill for long-awaited marijuana-reform bills such as the SAFER Banking Act, which passed a key committee in the Democratic-controlled Senate in September.
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Other speaker candidates who had previously vied to replace ousted Kevin McCarthy, including Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana, had similar records.
First elected to the House in 2016, Johnson has an F rating from NORML, the Washington DC-based marijuana advocacy group.
Johnson voted against the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act that President Joe Biden signed into law late last year.
He also twice voted against the SAFE Banking Act, the predecessor to the SAFER Banking Act, in 2019 and 2021.
Despite repeated
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