“I think this is a terrible public policy,” Rounds said shortly after his state legalized cannabis in November. “I have not changed my position on this.”
Rounds does not keep pace with voters in his state. South Dakotans passed a measure in November to legalize adult cannabis use by 54 to 45 percent.
The House has already taken steps to reflect the emerging consensus on legalization: In December, it passed a bill to lift federal sanctions on cannabis. But the Senate should even consider a similar bill in committee.
“Despite public opinion polls on this issue and the popularity of the issue, it does not appear to have an effect on a sufficient number of senators,” said John Hudak, a cannabis expert at The Brookings Institution. “I think they should be less afraid of this problem. But in the end they are not. “
Win win situation
A party with political power seldom wins by not keeping a promise. But in the case of cannabis, which enjoys widespread support among both Democratic and Republican voters, supporters of legalization argue that failure this year could work in the Democrats’ favor. That’s because Schumer and other progressives could be wielding the issue like a bat against the GOP in the meantime next year.
“Failure serves as a motivator for 2022, saying ‘We need more Democrats,’” noted Hudak. “That can be an effective fundraising message for [Schumer]. “
Industry officials argue that the issue is a political winner regardless of whether Congress currently has the votes for a major overhaul of federal marijuana policy.
“I think there is room to … be more progressive with it, without a loss seen as politically negative, in the same way that other” issues can be, “said Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, a major cannabis plant. . company with operations in multiple states, as well as chairman of the National Cannabis Roundtable, a leading industry group. ” I think it would be more of a problem [Schumer] if he doesn’t bring it [up]. “
Libertarian support?
Schumer may get unexpected legalization support from the GOP, but may need to make some compromises to do so. Libertarians like the Republican sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Rand Paul of Kentucky said they were open to scrapping marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, but Republicans have objected to tax and racial equality provisions in legislation such as the MORE Act in the previous Congress.
“I’m not a big fan of having a federal excise tax and adding criminal penalties to regulations,” said Paul.
Scrapping social equity funding or provisions to scrap criminal records could lure additional Republicans into proposing cannabis reform. But those changes could alienate Democrats – especially progressives who won’t pass cannabis law without criminal law reform.