A bill set to go before the U.S. House of Representatives this week to federally legalize and tax marijuana would add billions in revenues and reduce prison costs over the next decade, according to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday. Overall, the office said that it expects the proposed federal taxes included in the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act to bring in $8.1 billion in revenue from 2022 to 2031. CBO also looks at the impacts of legalization on the prison system. “H.R. 3617 would federally decriminalize cannabis (marijuana), expunge the records of people convicted of federal cannabis offenses, and require resentencing of some federal prisoners,” the report says. “As a result, CBO estimates, thousands of current inmates would be released earlier than under current law. In the future, decriminalization also would reduce the number of people in federal prisons and the amount of time they serve.” It is estimated that the policy change would mean that time served in federal prison would be collectively reduced by 37,000 person-years for current and future inmates. CBO predicted that the Bureau of Prisons would save about $800 million because there would be fewer people in prison amid sentence reductions.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/31/2022 11:21:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-marijuana-legalization-bill-would-add-billions-in-revenue-and-reduce-prison-costs-congressional-budget-office-says/

As the House prepares to vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana this week, lawmakers from both major parties have continued to file amendments that will be taken up by the House Rules Committee on Wednesday before the legislation reaches the floor. Most of the proposed revisions to the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act would impose additional restrictions on the reform measure, including by making legalization contingent on the completion of certain studies, barring federal funding to states that permit certain cannabis products, maintaining penalties and limiting expungement provisions. One filed amendment, however, would have far-reaching implications by providing relief for people who have been denied a security clearance over marijuana at any point over the past half-century. The Rules Committee will determine at a meeting scheduled for 1:00 PM ET whether or not to make any of the amendments in order for floor consideration. When the MORE Act reaches the floor, it will mark the second time in history that cannabis legalization legislation has been taken up by a full chamber of Congress. An earlier version of the bill passed the House in 2020 but stalled in the Senate.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/30/2022 12:15:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/pennsylvania-senators-approve-marijuana-banking-protection-bill-as-congressional-reform-stalls/

An Illinois Senate committee began a debate this week on a bill that would protect workers from being fired for using cannabis in their free time. With some exceptions, the measure would prohibit employers from firing workers or discriminating against job applicants merely for testing positive for marijuana use. The House of Representatives already passed a version of the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan (D), on a 61–41 vote earlier this month. At a hearing of the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday, senators spent about half an hour discussing details of the bill before its Senate sponsor, Sen. Robert Peters (D), abruptly paused the debate. Amid a series of critical questions from Republicans on the panel, Peters announced that he was pulling the bill from the record and would return to it later. “I’m gonna make this easier,” he said in response to a string of hypotheticals about when certain workers could be fired under the bill. “I’m gonna pull this from the record for right now, and I’ll come back.” Peters earlier in the hearing had expressed optimism that the discussion would proceed smoothly. “This is a very negotiated bill,” he said.

Ben Adlin, Marijuana Moment, 03/31/2022 08:20:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/illinois-senate-committee-abruptly-halts-debate-on-bill-to-protect-workers-who-test-positive-for-cannabis/

South Carolina lawmakers on Thursday approved a Senate-passed bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state. A subcommittee of the House Medical, Military, Public, and Municipal Affairs Committee advanced the measure, sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis (R), in a unanimous vote after adopting a couple of amendments. Now it will move to the full committee, which will hold a public hearing on the measure on Monday. The Compassionate Care Act passed the full Senate last month. It was profiled in late 2020 and passed out of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee last March, but a lone senator blocked it from reaching the chamber floor in 2021. Since then, Davis redoubled his efforts to get the bill across the finish line, arguing that South Carolina voters are ready for what he’s repeatedly called “the most conservative medical cannabis bill in the country.”. The senator said in January that House Speaker Jay Lucas (R) agreed to “allow the bill to go through the House process” if it advanced through the Senate, but a spokesperson for the speaker later told The Charleston Post and Courier that “Sen. Davis doesn’t speak for Speaker Lucas.”

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/31/2022 09:33:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/south-carolina-house-lawmakers-approve-senate-passed-medical-marijuana-legalization-bill-in-subcommittee/