New York may have been the straw that broke the federal camel’s back.
During a press conference, Senator Chuck Schumer was asked about a bill that would legalize marijuana, and he claimed “we’ll be introducing legislation with a few of my colleagues shortly.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on decriminalizing marijuana: “I support decriminalization at the federal level, and we’ll be introducing legislation with a few of my colleagues shortly.” pic.twitter.com/fkc9HE2wQB
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 31, 2021
In the video, Schumer calls it decriminalization, which is slightly confusing because there is usually seen to be a distinction between this and legalization, considering decriminalization may still come with fines for smoking.
According to Marijuana Moment, it’s likely the bill will mainly involve stripping marijuana of its controlled substance listing and make it restricted for large tobacco companies to overrun the industry and keep it in the hands of small businesses.
So this is probably the reason for the decriminalization stamp: it’s a more passive approach that leaves the specifics of legalization up to the states.
Things are looking up!
