Congresswoman Nancy Mace has introduced The States Reform Act bill which aims to decriminalise cannabis use at the federal level.
The bill has been introduced to amend the Controlled Substances Act regarding cannabis. If approved The States Reform Act would remove cannabis from the list of Schedule 1 substances, allowing states to make their own decisions on cannabis.
Although cannabis use is legal in all bar three US states, it is currently illegal at the federal level. This misalignment means numerous ancillary businesses refuse to provide services to cannabis businesses – causing a host of problems for the industry.
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Mace commented: “Today, only three states lack some form of legal cannabis. My home state of South Carolina permits CBD, Florida allows medical marijuana, California and others have full recreational use, for example. Every state is different. Cannabis reform at the federal level must take all of this into account. And it’s past time federal law codifies this reality.
“This is why I’m introducing the States Reform Act, a bill which seeks to remove cannabis from Schedule I in a manner consistent with the rights of states to determine what level of cannabis reform each state already has, or not.
“This bill supports veterans, law enforcement, farmers, businesses, those with serious illnesses, and it is good for criminal justice reform. Furthermore, a super-majority of Americans support an end to cannabis prohibition, which is why only three states in the country have no cannabis reform at all.
“The States Reform Act takes special care to keep Americans and their children safe while ending federal interference with state cannabis laws. Washington needs to provide a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis moving forward. This bill does that.”
Under the bill, cannabis consumption would be restricted for people under the age of 21, and a three per cent excise tax would be introduced, according to Reuters.
