{"id":94220,"date":"2019-05-03T11:14:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T17:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-senators-lead-way-on-legalization-of-marijuana\/"},"modified":"2019-05-03T11:14:20","modified_gmt":"2019-05-03T17:14:20","slug":"colorado-senators-lead-way-on-legalization-of-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-senators-lead-way-on-legalization-of-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado senators lead way on legalization of marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"An
An employee works at Animas Herbal Wellness Center in Durango. Colorado Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet are urging fellow lawmakers to adopt federal regulations around a legal marijuana industry.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

WASHINGTON \u2013 Washington, D.C., became a little more \u201c420 friendly\u201d last month as Colorado Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet introduced two bills to ease federal regulation of the marijuana industry.<\/p>\n

Gardner, along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., reintroduced the STATES Act, which would protect states\u2019 rights to determine their own approach to marijuana legalization, without fear of federal intervention. All but three states have legalized some form of marijuana, creating an often confusing and conflicting mix of state and federal regulations.<\/p>\n

\"Gardner\"
Gardner<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe STATES Act is not about legalization. It\u2019s about allowing a state to make the determination of whether it wants to be subject to the federal prohibition or not,\u201d Gardner said in an interview with The Durango Herald<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The STATES Act, cosponsored by a wide mix of Republicans and Democrats, seems to be gaining traction in Congress. During an Appropriations Hearing on April 10, Attorney General William Barr expressed support for \u201cone uniform federal rule against marijuana.\u201d While he hasn\u2019t specifically studied the STATES Act, Barr did say he preferred the approach taken by the bill \u201cthan where we currently are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill, which was first introduced last year, has gained more support and momentum, in large part because the atmosphere around legalizing marijuana has changed.<\/p>\n

About 90 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state that has legalized some form of marijuana use, Gardner said. More states now struggle to navigate what it means to legalize a substance that remains federally prohibited.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs more people are being forced to deal with it, the more people will be looking for a solution,\u201d Gardner said. The STATES Act \u201cis simply about allowing a state to do what its people have decided to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many feel the legislation would create opportunities for increased economic growth in the industry. Morgan Fox, media relations for the National Cannabis Industry Association, said the bill moves the process down the road that ends prohibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness owners would not have to worry about a federal crackdown,\u201d Fox said. \u201cThey would allow small business owners to access investors or capital that they might not have otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green banking<\/div>\n

A week after Gardner introduced his legislation, Bennet reintroduced the SAFE Banking Act. Many of the states, Colorado included, have been denied access to the banking system since banks that work with cannabis industries can be prosecuted under federal law.<\/p>\n

\"Bennet\"
Bennet<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe lack of access to banking services for marijuana businesses is a public safety issue in Colorado,\u201d Bennet said in a written statement. \u201cOperating on a cash-only basis results in unnecessary safety risks for both employees and customers and creates compliance and oversight challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill would create a banking system safe from criminal prosecution and liability, allowing marijuana companies equal access to the banking system, the same as any other legal business, Bennet said.<\/p>\n

Some feel the regulations imposed on cannabis businesses have slowed the growth of a large, and potentially thriving, economic sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the federal government has been a roadblock to what could be a tremendous industry,\u201d said Jaime McMillan, founder of McMillan Capital Management Group and a recent candidate for Durango City Council. \u201cThe banking act would finally give these businesses equal playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ann
Ann Perkins-Parrott waits in the checkout line at Durango Organics. Some federal lawmakers say the marijuana industry, which has been legalized in most states, needs legal access to banking services.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

But not everyone is ready to light up in favor of decreased federal cannabis regulation. Some fear it\u2019s a green light to the widespread commercialization of cannabis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really worried that we\u2019re creating the big tobacco of our time, and we\u2019re allowing big companies and corporations to come in,\u201d said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a nonprofit opposed to marijuana legalization and commercialization.<\/p>\n

Sabet, who previously served as drug policy adviser in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, said marijuana laws made in one state often affect other states. Therefore, legalizing it in one state can have consequences throughout the country, Sabet said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost every state in the country is feeling the brunt of Colorado\u2019s lax policies,\u201d Sabet said.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether the bills pass, Fox said it is a \u201cchance to put a spotlight on cannabis reform in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox said the bipartisan support of cannabis legislation is a huge departure from what has been seen in the past. The majority of the Democratic presidential candidates are either introducing their own marijuana reform bills or signing on to support others.<\/p>\n

Commercialization<\/div>\n

Shortly after the STATES Act was reintroduced, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey announced he was pulling his support of the bill because it did not do enough to decriminalize marijuana use or help those convicted of possessing the drug.<\/p>\n

Sabet said that epitomizes what people assumed would happen when they first voted for legalization.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople thought it was about decriminalization. They didn\u2019t want people to go to prison, which I agree with,\u201d Sabet said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t vote for it because they wanted pot gummies sold on the corner store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox said it is unfortunate more legislation hasn\u2019t repaired harm done by the war on drugs, but he said the National Cannabis Industry Association is making sure those issues will be discussed alongside current legislation. Fox said the biggest benefit of legislation like STATES and SAFE Banking acts is the certainty that comes with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve steadily moved, with some exceptions, away from \u2018Should cannabis be legal?\u2019 to moving toward \u2018What is the best way to do that?\u2019\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n

Liz Weber is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawmakers say lack of banking services is a safety concern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[21,135],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-94220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-cortez","tag-marijuana"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94220"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=94220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}