Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
{{Short description|Proposed bill in the United States Congress}}
{{redirect|CAOA|the Australian arts organization|Contemporary Art Organisations Australia|the Brazilian company|Grupo Caoa}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| name = Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
| fullname = 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.
| acronym = CAOA
| leghisturl = https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4226/all-actions
| introducedin= Senate
| introducedbill= {{USBill|118|S.|4226}}
| introducedby = Cory Booker
| introduceddate= May 1, 2024
}}
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (S.4226 in the 118th Congress) is a proposed bill in the United States Congress to recognize legalization of cannabis by the states. The authors are Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Cory Booker, and Senator Ron Wyden.
History
=117th Congress=
On March 31, 2021, following New York legalization under the 2021 Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he would soon introduce a federal bill to deschedule cannabis, similar to his 2018 Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act.{{citation|title=Schumer Pushes Senate on Pot Laws as States Leap Ahead|author=Steven T. Dennis|publisher=Bloomberg|date= March 31, 2021|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-31/schumer-pushes-senate-on-pot-legalization-as-states-leap-ahead}} Sources told Politico and other media that a draft of the bill would be introduced on July 14.{{cite news|website=MarketWatch|publisher=Dow Jones|title=Schumer, other Democrats to unveil draft bill for cannabis decriminalization on Wednesday|date=July 13, 2021|author=Victor Reklaitis|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/schumer-other-democrats-to-unveil-draft-bill-for-cannabis-decriminalization-on-wednesday-11626193788}}
On July 14, 2021, Senator Schumer introduced a discussion draft of the bill.{{cite news|work=Politico|title= Schumer launches long-shot bid for legal weed|author= NATALIE FERTIG |date= July 14, 2021|url= https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/07/14/schumer-launches-long-shot-bid-for-legal-weed-499584 }}{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Schumer Proposes Federal Decriminalization of Marijuana|author=Nicholas Fandos|date=July 14, 2021|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/us/politics/marijuana-legalization-schumer.html}}
On February 4, 2022, Schumer said the legislation would be introduced in the U.S. Senate in April of that year.{{cite web|title=Senate Majority Leader Provides Timeline for Introducing Long-Awaited Marijuana Descheduling Plan|date=February 7, 2022|publisher=NORML|website=official website|url=https://norml.org/blog/2022/02/07/senate-majority-leaders-provides-timeline-for-introducing-long-awaited-marijuana-descheduling-plan/}} Later in February, Schumer circulated a letter asking other senators to "join the process of perfecting" the draft, and for their support.{{cite news|date=February 10, 2022|title=Schumer asks for input as Democrats finalize cannabis bill|author=Jordain Carney|work=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/593662-schumer-asks-for-input-as-democrats-finalize-cannabis-bill}}
The bill was said to be likely to be introduced by its sponsors on or around the unofficial 420 cannabis holiday, i.e. April 20, 2022,{{cite news|title=Booker aims for 4/20 to drop a new legal weed bill|author=Jonathan D. Salant | date=April 2, 2022|publisher=NJ.com|url=https://www.nj.com/marijuana/2022/04/booker-aims-for-420-to-drop-a-new-legal-weed-bill.html}} but it was later postponed to "before August recess".{{cite news|title=Timeline for marijuana legalization bill slips in Senate|author=Aris Folley|work=The Hill|date=April 14, 2022|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/timeline-for-marijuana-legalization-bill-slips-in-senate/ar-AAWezeX}}
The bill was introduced in the United States Senate on July 21, 2022 as S.4591.{{cite news|publisher=Politico|title=Schumer's legal weed bill is finally here|date=July 21, 2022|author=Natalie Fertig|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/21/schumer-legal-weed-bill-00047058}}[https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/4591 S.4591 bill history], U.S. Congress official website In addition to decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level, the bill would expunge federal cannabis-related criminal records. It would add new funding for law enforcement to go after illegal marijuana operations.
File:Schumer Booker Wyden Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.jpg
=118th Congress=
In a Dear Colleague letter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others announced plans to reintroduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act before April 20, 2024.{{cite news|publisher=Market Watch|title=Senators Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden and Cory Booker pushing cannabis legalization bill|first=Steve|last=Gelsi|date=April 10, 2024|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/senators-chuck-schumer-ron-wyden-and-cory-booker-pushing-cannabis-legalization-bill-report-1a131ed0}} Schumer announced the introduction of the bill on May 1, 2024,{{cite news|title=Schumer: Reclassifying marijuana is 'long overdue'|quote=Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., held a press conference with other Democratic lawmakers to introduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. The legislation will aim to change the federal government's approach to handling marijuana, as the Biden administration plans to reclassify the drug.|date=May 1, 2024|publisher=NBC News|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/video/schumer-introduces-legislation-to-update-the-government-s-approach-to-marijuana-210057285581}} and it was enrolled as S.4226 that day.[https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4226 S.4226 bill history], congress.gov US Congress official website, accessed May 2, 2024
Reception and analysis
The bill was called by ABC News in 2021 "the first time in history [senators from a major party] introduced a bill to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances" and end federal prohibition.{{cite news|title= What ending the federal marijuana prohibition could mean for the industry|author=Bill Hutchinson|publisher= ABC News |date=July 16, 2021 |url= https://abcnews.go.com/US/marijuana-industry-insiders-cautiously-optimistic-senate-bill-end/story?id=78849207}}{{efn|The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act had a single Senate sponsor in 2015–2016 Congress: Bernie Sanders, an independent.{{Cite news |url=http://extract.suntimes.com/news/10/153/13981/no-senators-cosponsor-bernie-sanders-bill-end-federal-marijuana-prohibition/ |title=Bernie Sanders' bill to end federal marijuana prohibition has zero co-sponsors so far |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=January 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309235409/http://extract.suntimes.com/news/10/153/13981/no-senators-cosponsor-bernie-sanders-bill-end-federal-marijuana-prohibition/ |archive-date=March 9, 2017 |url-status=dead }}}}
The New York Times wrote that the bill was unlikely to become law, but was significant because "[t]he suggestion that the Senate's top leader and the chairman of the powerful Finance Committee would sponsor major decriminalization legislation would have been fantastical in the not-too-distant past".{{cite news|author=Nicholas Fandos|title=Schumer Will Propose Federal Decriminalization of Marijuana|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 14, 2021|url=https://nyti.ms/3xFmOtD}}
The Associated Press wrote that the support of the Senate Majority Leader for ending prohibition "underscor[es] how a once-fringe idea is increasingly mainstream".{{cite news|publisher= Associated Press |title= Senate leader lends clout to marijuana legalization push|author=BRIAN SLODYSKO|date=July 14, 2021|url= https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-government-and-politics-business-marijuana-f77a68fe524ff67f244c5cbe4984fdde }}
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite news|work=The Hill|title=Schumer set to unveil huge new federal marijuana legalization bill|date=July 13, 2021|url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/accessibility/562873-schumer-set-to-unveil-huge-new-federal-marijuana}}
- {{Citation|title=High Hurdles for Commonsense Cannabis Reform|work=The American Prospect|author=Gabrielle Gurley |date=July 19, 2021|url=https://prospect.org/health/high-hurdles-for-commonsense-cannabis-reform/}}
- {{cite news|title= Senate moves to legalize pot at federal level. What are the chances?|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=July 29, 2021|author =Sasha Hupka|url= https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-07-29/what-are-the-chances-senate-will-legalize-pot-marijuana}}
External links
- [https://www.booker.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/caoa.pdf Draft bill] at Senator Booker's official website
- [https://www.c-span.org/video/?513404-1/legislation-end-federal-prohibition-marijuana Legislation to End Federal Prohibition of Marijuana (July 14, 2021)] at C-Span
{{Cannabis in the United States}}
{{Portal bar|Cannabis|Law|United States}}
Category:2021 cannabis law reform
Category:Cannabis law in the United States
Category:Proposed legislation of the 117th United States Congress
Category:2022 cannabis law reform