New Senate Bill to Prepare for Legalization

To Facilitate the Transition to Legalization, a New Senate Bill would Establish a Federal Marijuana Commission

Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) said that he will soon file a congressional measure to set the country up for federal cannabis reform, commemorating the tenth anniversary of Colorado voters’ approval of marijuana legalization at the ballot.

The PREPARE Act (Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment) would require the Attorney General to form a commission to recommend a marijuana regulatory framework similar to the one in place for alcoholic beverages.

Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Brian Mast (R-FL) introduced a similar bill in the House in April. The Senate version will be formally submitted when the chamber returns from recess in mid-November.

Colorado was “a pioneer in marijuana legalization a decade ago, thanks in part to the Amendment 64 Task Force,” Dave Joyce noted in a press statement. “No new ground must be broken for federal legalization to take effect; we should get ready for that day.”

The new congressional measure would “provide lawmakers across the ideological spectrum the opportunity to engage in cannabis reform by creating a fair, honest and publicly transparent process for the federal government to establish effective regulation to be enacted upon the termination of its 85-year prohibition of cannabis.”

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