Senate to delay cannabis legalization discussions

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The House moved quickly on the MORE Act, but the Senate is stalling once more

Although there have been recent updates on the legalization of marijuana at the federal level, the Senate does not appear to be willing to engage in such discussions in the near future. Democratic leaders in the House say they are hopeful that the Senate version of a legalization bill will arrive sometime this summer.

While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he is proud of the process undertaken so far to bring the bill closer to the official introduction, his stance indicates it will take a few more months for something concrete to happen.

This timeline is definitely a contrast to what Schumer has said in the past. There was no doubt that legalization advocates were hoping for Senate legislation, so yet another delay is another discouragement, especially after the House of Representatives gave the go-ahead to its own bill to end prohibition at the federal level a few weeks ago.

According to statements made by the New York Democrat, the House approval meant that the Senate would unveil its legalization measure before the end of this month. However, those words do not appear to be being honored and in reality, it could be several months before any action is seen in the Senate.

April began with the news that the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act passed the Democratic-led House. This meant that the removal of marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act is closer. As a result, the plant would no longer be punishable under federal law.

Senator Cory Booker, who has worked closely with Schumer on the Senate bill, said he does not believe the House-passed legislation will have the same outcome in the Senate. While the Senate is also controlled by Democrats, there has always been a noticeable disparity between the decisions made in the House. “Right now, we’re thinking about doing something we’ve been working on for a long time,” Booker said,