Now that a much-anticipated Senate marijuana legalization bill has been released, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Thursday that he is committed to working with bipartisan offices to get “something” done on cannabis reform “this year.”
More than a year after unveiling a draft version of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), the final bill was released early Thursday morning. Schumer discussed the legislation, as well as next steps, during a Senate floor speech hours later.
A theme of the speech was the bipartisan work that went into developing CAOA, which retains the key pillars of the draft version but was significantly expanded following extensive input from advocates, stakeholders and lawmakers. But there was also subtext: the majority leader seemed to leave the door open for his bill’s provisions serving as a jumping off point for alternative, scaled-down cannabis reform legislation that could pass by the year’s end.
Of course, he touted the the new broad legalization bill itself and provided an overview of the various components—from its emphasis on equity to its inclusion of public health and safety measures.
“It is time that Congress catches up with the rest of the country,” Schumer said, adding that “this
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