The Marijuana Justice Act (S.1689) was a 2017 bill to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, sponsored by U.S. Senator Cory Booker.[1] An identical bill, H.R.4815, was introduced in the House of Representatives.[2] The bill was reintroduced in 2019 and co-sponsored by a number of contenders for the Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. President in the 2020 election, including Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bennet, and Bernie Sanders.[3][4] In February 2019, it was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.[5] The bill introduced by Senator Booker in the 2017–2018 Congress was called "among the most notable efforts" around legalization in that session.[6] Besides removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, the bill also sought to set up a community reinvestment fund, provide for expungement of past drug convictions, and penalize states that enforce cannabis laws disproportionately (regarding race or income status).[7]

Senator Cory Booker at a rally in support of the Marijuana Justice Act in August 2017

Legislative history

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References

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  1. ^ Weigel 2019.
  2. ^ Pasquariello 2018.
  3. ^ Associated Press 2019.
  4. ^ Buck 2019.
  5. ^ Bill tracker: S.597, U.S. Congress, 28 February 2019, retrieved November 4, 2020
  6. ^ Schiller 2018.
  7. ^ Berke 2018.

Sources

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Further reading

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