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Cannabis one step closer to legalization
By Rena McCain
Happy WeedsDay, everyone!
It’s so amazing to see how far the interest of Cannabis legalization has gotten of late! I am excited that this plant is finally getting some of the attention it deserves.
So the good news is that there is yet one more Senate bill, filed February 7 by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)! It’s even appropriately named S.420. Thank you, sir.
Sen. Wyden’s proposal would deschedule marijuana by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), establish a federal excise tax on legal sales and create a system of permits for businesses to engage in cannabis commerce.
Wyden stated in an email: “S.420 may get some laughs, but what matters most is that it will get people talking about the serious need to end failed prohibition.â€
I believe he is right on this point.
The federal prohibition of marijuana is wrong — plain and simple. Too many lives have been wasted and too many economic opportunities have been missed. It’s time for Congress to respect the will of the voters in Oregon and nationwide, who are demanding common-sense drug policies. —Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 8, 2019
Aside from S.420, which would also authorize regulations on packaging and labeling of cannabis products and apply alcohol advertising guidelines to the product, Sen. Wyden introduced two separate pieces of cannabis legislation in the U.S. Senate this week.
One of the bills, S.421, seeks to “reduce the gap between Federal and State marijuana policy.†It proposes a number of changes such as exempting state-legal marijuana activity from the CSA, allowing banking access for cannabis companies, eliminating advertising prohibitions, expunging criminal records, shielding immigrants from deportation over marijuana and allowing Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to issue medical cannabis recommendations.
The other piece of legislation, S.422, would exempt state-legal cannabis businesses from the federal provision known as 280(E), which prevents them from taking normal business tax deductions that are available to operators in other industries.
This third bill is the only one of Sen. Wyden’s new proposals that comes with initial co-sponsors. Also signing on to the legislation are U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Patty Murray (D-WA).
There is another bill that was filed last month by another federal lawmaker from Oregon. His name is U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). His proposal is a congressional bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol, numbered H.R. 420.
I personally don’t care for this bill, myself. I can’t in good conscious, agree that it is OK to regulate a plant that does no harm, unlike nature of alcohol. It is like comparing apples to oranges. There is no actual comparison here and it’s like bending the law to suit a need. They need full jails so they want it regulated like you’re a drunk driver, knowing full well that cannabis stays in the body way longer than alcohol, doesn’t have the same effect as alcohol, and doesn’t pose the same impairments as booze.
Our bodies, on the other hand, need cannabis. The endocannabinoid system proves that. The endocannabinoid system provides homeostasis to the body and science proves this. I will never get behind a bill that criminalizes me being healthy. In my opinion, since our bodies need it to be healthy to create homeostasis balance, cannabis shouldn’t be regulated by any government that hasn’t had my health in its best interests all these years.
Legalize cannabis for what it is. It is a nutrient — a helpful, needed, multi-dimensional herb capable of quality of life improvements that no other plant or pill can provide. Legalize it like #berriesandtomatoes!
Rena McCain is a co-founder of the Cannabis Open Carry Walks. Find her on Facebook at GanjaGrrl420, or via Twitter @sassikatt24 and Instagram at ganja_grrl420. Listen to Conversations with Ganja Grrl & 420 News HQ, McCain’s broadcast on MixLR.com every Sunday morning, 11 a.m. ’til 2 p.m. CST on the MountainHighX station. To listen, download the MIXLR APP for android or Apple. Make an account. Search for and follow MountainHigh10.
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