Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH), a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, is refining the so-called Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act, a bill that would amend the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to undo federal criminalization of those acting in compliance with state cannabis programs.
Joyce, a regular guest at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference told Forbes on Monday that the purpose of the STATES Act is to promote states’ rights and send a message to the federal government that it “should get the hell out of their way.”
Meanwhile, 14 of Joyce’s Republican colleagues are doing just the opposite.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) along with 13 other senators and congress members sent a letter to the DEA demanding that it deny an HHS recommendation to reschedule marijuana to a lower-risk Schedule III drug, first reported The Washington Stand.
In the letter, the Republican lawmakers argue that “[a]ny effort to reschedule marijuana should be based on proven facts and science — not popular opinion, changes in state laws, or the preferred policy of an administration.”
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