Senator Chuck Schumer has a new federal cannabis bill in the works

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The Senate Majority Leader has fulfilled a plan he first introduced last year

Although it has been some time since we have heard any news from US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, there is a new update the official is bringing for the marijuana industry. He says he will have a formal introduction of his long-awaited Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) ready in April after releasing a draft of the proposal last summer.

The news was shared by Schumer at a press conference last week. After being announced in the middle of last year, the legislation aims to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. In order to achieve that, the idea is to remove the plant from the Controlled Substances Act in the country.

“In the coming weeks, we’re ramping up our outreach and we expect to introduce final legislation,” Schumer said at the press conference. “Our goal is to do it in April. Then we begin the nationwide push, spearheaded by New York, to get the federal law done. As the majority leader, I can set priorities. This is a priority for me.”

Many industry stakeholders took the time to review the draft and later submitted comments on the CAOA. Some of the processes have been widely criticized, especially for the delay in implementing the legislation, as well as for not moving forward with more gradual policy reform, such as the Banking SAFE Act. The CAOA now joins the list of other two bills that also intend to declassify cannabis at the federal level.

NORML’s political director, Morgan Fox, via a public statement, said, “We are enthusiastic that the Senator is moving forward on his promise to prioritize cannabis policy reform in the 117th Congress. It is our hope that the official introduction of CAOA will jumpstart hearings and debates in the Upper Chamber-debates that are long overdue.”