[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4226 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4226
To decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment
in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide
for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 1, 2024
Mr. Booker (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs.
Murray, Mr. Peters, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Butler, Mr. Welch,
Ms. Smith, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Warren, Mr.
Hickenlooper, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment
in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide
for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Cannabis
Administration and Opportunity Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND STATES'
RIGHTS
Subtitle A--Decriminalization of Cannabis
Sec. 101. Decriminalization of cannabis.
Sec. 102. Transferring agency functions with regard to cannabis.
Subtitle B--Public Safety and States' Rights
Sec. 111. States' rights.
Sec. 112. Diversion of cannabis.
TITLE II--RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND PREVENTION
Subtitle A--Public Health and Biomedical Research
Sec. 201. Societal impact of cannabis legalization study.
Sec. 202. Biomedical research on cannabis.
Sec. 203. Public health surveillance and data collection.
Sec. 204. Awards to prevent underage cannabis use.
Sec. 205. National media campaigns on cannabis use.
Sec. 206. Increasing availability of cannabis products for research
purposes.
Sec. 207. Trans-NIH cannabis consortium.
Sec. 208. Cannabis research interagency advisory committee.
Sec. 209. Awards for cannabis research.
Sec. 210. Department of Veterans Affairs clinical trials on the effects
of cannabis on certain health outcomes of
veterans with chronic pain and post-
traumatic stress disorder.
Sec. 211. Cannabis research infrastructure grants.
Subtitle B--Cannabis-Impaired Driving Prevention
Sec. 221. Definitions.
Sec. 222. Cannabis-impaired driving research.
Sec. 223. DOT cannabis-impaired driving prevention programs.
Sec. 224. State cannabis-impaired driving prevention grant program.
Sec. 225. National cannabis impairment standard.
Sec. 226. Funding.
TITLE III--RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND OPPORTUNITY
Subtitle A--Opportunity Trust Fund Programs
Sec. 301. Opportunity trust fund programs.
Sec. 302. Comprehensive opioid, stimulant, and substance use disorder
program.
Sec. 303. Availability of small business administration programs and
services to cannabis-related legitimate
businesses and service providers.
Sec. 304. Demographic data of cannabis business owners and employees.
Sec. 305. Pilot program.
Sec. 306. Eliminating disparities among cannabis-related legitimate
businesses and service providers.
Subtitle B--Restorative Justice
Sec. 311. Resentencing and expungement.
Sec. 312. No discrimination in the provision of a Federal public
benefit on the basis of cannabis.
Sec. 313. No adverse effect for purposes of the immigration laws.
Sec. 314. Provision by health care providers of the Department of
Veterans Affairs of recommendations and
opinions regarding veteran participation in
cannabis programs.
Sec. 315. Provision by health care providers of Indian health programs
of recommendations and opinions regarding
participation in cannabis programs.
TITLE IV--TAXATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST FUND
Sec. 401. Creation of Opportunity Trust Fund and imposition of taxes
with respect to cannabis products.
TITLE V--PUBLIC HEALTH, CANNABIS ADMINISTRATION, AND TRADE PRACTICES
Subtitle A--Public Health
Sec. 501. FDA regulation of cannabis.
Sec. 502. Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Sec. 503. Expedited review.
Sec. 504. Regulation of cannabidiol.
Sec. 505. Transition periods.
Sec. 506. Amendment to the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
Sec. 507. Funding for FDA.
Subtitle B--Federal Cannabis Administration
Sec. 511. Federal cannabis administration.
Sec. 512. Increased funding for the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Tax
and Trade Bureau.
TITLE VI--WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY PROVISIONS
Sec. 601. Definitions.
Sec. 602. Finding regarding employers in the cannabis industry.
Sec. 603. Cannabis as a targeted topic for Susan Harwood training grant
program.
Sec. 604. Guidance on recommended practices.
Sec. 605. Workplace impact of cannabis legalization.
Sec. 606. Grants for community-based education, outreach, and
enforcement with respect to the rights of
workers in the cannabis industry.
TITLE VII--BANKING, HOUSING, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Sec. 701. Purposes; sense of Congress.
Sec. 702. Requirements for filing suspicious activity reports.
Sec. 703. Guidance and examination procedures.
Sec. 704. Investment in communities.
Sec. 705. Fair access to financial services.
Sec. 706. Consumer protections for individuals with nonviolent criminal
record.
TITLE VIII--MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 801. Comptroller General review of laws and regulations.
Sec. 802. Cannabis Products Advisory Committee.
Sec. 803. Definition of hemp under USDA domestic hemp production
program.
Sec. 804. Grants for hiring and training relating to cannabis
enforcement.
Sec. 805. Severability.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The communities that have been most harmed by cannabis
prohibition are benefitting the least from the legal marijuana
marketplace.
(2) A legacy of racial and ethnic injustices, compounded by
the disproportionate collateral consequences of 80 years of
cannabis prohibition enforcement, now limits participation in
the industry.
(3) 38 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Indian Tribes have adopted laws
allowing legal access to cannabis, and 24 States, the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
and Guam have adopted laws legalizing cannabis for adult
recreational use.
(4) A total of 49 States have reformed their laws
pertaining to cannabis despite the Schedule I status of
marijuana and its Federal criminalization.
(5) The Food and Drug Administration recommended that
cannabis be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act,
from Schedule I to Schedule III, having identified ``credible
scientific support for the medical use of marijuana''.
(6) Legal cannabis businesses support more than 417,000
jobs throughout the United States.
(7) Legal cannabis sales totaled $33,600,000,000 in 2023
and are projected to reach $56,900,000,000 by 2028.
(8) According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
enforcing cannabis prohibition laws costs taxpayers
approximately $3,600,000,000 a year.
(9) The continued enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws
resulted in over 227,000 arrests in 2022, disproportionately
impacting people of color who are almost 4 times more likely to
be arrested for cannabis possession than their White
counterparts, despite equal rates of use across populations.
(10) People of color and Native Americans have been
historically targeted by discriminatory sentencing practices
resulting in Black men receiving drug sentences that are 13.1
percent longer than sentences imposed for White men and Latinos
being nearly 6.5 times more likely to receive a Federal
sentence for cannabis possession than non-Hispanic Whites.
(11) In 2013, simple cannabis possession was the fourth
most common cause of deportation for any offense and the most
common cause of deportation for drug law violations. Since
2003, the United States has deported more than 45,000 people
whose most serious conviction was cannabis possession.
(12) Fewer than one-fifth of cannabis business owners
identify as non-white.
(13) Applicants for cannabis licenses are limited by
numerous laws, regulations, and exorbitant permit applications,
licensing fees, and costs in these States, which can require
more than $700,000.
(14) Historically disproportionate arrest and conviction
rates make it particularly difficult for people of color to
enter the legal cannabis marketplace, as many States bar these
individuals from participating.
(15) Federal law severely limits access to loans and
capital for cannabis businesses, disproportionately impacting
minority and Tribal small business owners.
(16) Some States, Indian Tribes, and municipalities have
taken proactive steps to mitigate inequalities in the legal
cannabis marketplace and ensure equal participation in the
industry.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Cannabis; cannabis product.--The terms ``cannabis'' and
``cannabis product'' have the same meanings given such terms in
subsection (tt) of section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321) (as added by section 502 of this
Act).
(2) Cannabis offense.--The term ``cannabis offense'' means
a criminal offense related to cannabis--
(A) that, under Federal law, is no longer
punishable pursuant to this Act or the amendments made
under this Act; or
(B) that, under State law, is no longer an offense
or that was designated a lesser offense or for which
the penalty was reduced under State law pursuant to or
following the adoption of a State law authorizing the
sale or use of cannabis.
(3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' means the
governing body of any individually identified and federally
recognized Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo,
village, community, affiliated Tribal group, or component
reservation included on the list published most recently as of
the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to section 104(a) of
the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25
U.S.C. 5131(a)).
TITLE I--DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS, PUBLIC SAFETY, AND STATES'
RIGHTS
Subtitle A--Decriminalization of Cannabis
SEC. 101. DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS.
(a) Cannabis Removed From Schedule of Controlled Substances.--
(1) Removal in statute.--Schedule I of section 202 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) is amended--
(A) in subsection (c)--
(i) by striking ``(10) Marihuana.''; and
(ii) in paragraph (17), by inserting ``in
cannabis (as defined in section 201(tt)(1) of
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 321(tt)(1))) or tetrahydrocannabinols''
before ``in hemp''; and
(B) in subsection (d)(2), by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(C) Such term does not include any substance made
of or derived from cannabis (as defined in section
201(tt)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 321(tt)(1)) or hemp (as defined in section
297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7
U.S.C. 1639o)))''.
(2) Removal from schedule.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall finalize a rulemaking under section 201(a)(2) of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811(a)(2)) removing
marihuana and tetrahydrocannabinols in cannabis (as defined in
section 201(tt)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 321(tt)(1))) from the schedules of controlled
substances. For the purposes of the Controlled Substances Act,
marihuana and tetrahydrocannabinols in cannabis (as so defined)
shall each be deemed to be a drug or other substance that does
not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule. A
rulemaking under this paragraph shall be considered to have
taken effect as of the date of enactment of this Act for
purposes of any offense committed, case pending, conviction
entered, and, in the case of a juvenile, any offense committed,
case pending, and adjudication of juvenile delinquency entered
before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
(3) Rescheduling review of non-cannabis derived
tetrahydrocannibinols and cannabimimetic agents.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall initiate a review of the schedules applicable to
the substances described in subsections (c)(17) and (d)
of Schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).
(B) Motion to transfer.--Pursuant to the findings
of the review conducted under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, as
appropriate, initiate a motion to transfer such
substances between schedules pursuant to section 201 of
the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811).
(b) Conforming Amendments to Controlled Substances Act.--The
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 102 (21 U.S.C. 802)--
(A) by striking paragraph (16); and
(B) in paragraph (44), by striking ``marihuana,'';
(2) in section 401(b) (21 U.S.C. 841(b))--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in clause (vi), by inserting
``or'' after the semicolon;
(II) by striking clause (vii); and
(III) by redesignating clause
(viii) as clause (vii);
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) in clause (vi), by inserting
``or'' after the semicolon;
(II) by striking clause (vii); and
(III) by redesignating clause
(viii) as clause (vii);
(iii) in subparagraph (C), in the first
sentence, by striking ``subparagraphs (A), (B),
and (D)'' and inserting ``subparagraphs (A) and
(B)'';
(iv) by striking subparagraph (D);
(v) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as
subparagraph (D); and
(vi) in subparagraph (D)(i), as so
redesignated, by striking ``subparagraphs (C)
and (D)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (C)'';
(B) by striking paragraph (4); and
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and (7)
as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively;
(3) in section 402(c)(2)(B) (21 U.S.C. 842(c)(2)(B)), by
striking ``, marihuana,'';
(4) in section 403(d)(1) (21 U.S.C. 843(d)(1)), by striking
``, marihuana,'';
(5) in section 418(a) (21 U.S.C. 859(a)), by striking the
last sentence;
(6) in section 419(a) (21 U.S.C. 860(a)), by striking the
last sentence;
(7) in section 422(d) (21 U.S.C. 863(d))--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``marijuana, cocaine, hashish, hashish oil,''
and inserting ``cocaine,''; and
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``, such as a
marihuana cigarette,'';
(8) in section 516(d) (21 U.S.C. 886(d)), by striking
``section 401(b)(6)'' each place the term appears and inserting
``section 401(b)(5)''; and
(9) in section 1010(b) (21 U.S.C. 960(b))--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (F), by inserting
``or'' after the semicolon;
(ii) by striking subparagraph (G);
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as
subparagraph (G); and
(iv) in subparagraph (G), as so
redesignated, by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (F), by inserting
``or'' after the semicolon;
(ii) by striking subparagraph (G);
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as
subparagraph (G); and
(iv) in subparagraph (G), as so
redesignated, by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon;
(C) by striking paragraph (4); and
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and (7)
as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively.
(c) Other Conforming Amendments.--
(1)