An Overview of the Various Federal and State, Marijuana-Related Legislation Currently Pending Before the U.S. Congress and State Ballots for 2020

On August 5, 2020, the fifth article in my six-part series published in Cannabis Business Executive, providing an overview of the various federal and state marijuana-related legislation currently pending before the U.S. Congress and on the U.S. State Ballots for the 2020 General Election.

The first part of the article discusses the following federal marijuana-related bills that were introduced and/or are currently pending in Congress:

• “Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act” (S. 1200 & H.R. 1595);
• “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act” (H.R. 420);
• “Small Business Tax Equity Act of 2019” (S. 422 & H.R. 1118);
• “Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act” (S. 1028 & H.R. 2093);
• “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act” (H.R. 2012);
• “Marijuana Justice Act of 2019” (S. 597 & H.R. 1456);
• “Responsibly Addressing the Marijuana Policy Gap Act of 2017 (RAMP)” (S. 421 & H.R. 1824)
• “Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act” (S. 420 & H.R. 1120);
• “Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act” (S. 445 & H.R. 1151);
• “VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2019” (S. 179 & H.R. 712);
• “The Sensible Enforcement of Cannabis Act”) (H.R. 493);
• “Medical Cannabis Research Act of 2019” (H.R. 601);
• “Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2019” (H.R. 127);
• “Restraining Excessive Federal Enforcement & Regulations of Cannabis (REFER) Act” (H.R. 1455); and
• “Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019” (H.R. 3884). 

The second part of the article discusses the various state, marijuana-related bills and constitutional amendments that are currently on the ballot in at least seven U.S. states (possibly eight if you include Idaho) for this 2020 general election cycle, including an examination of the polling data about local support for or against them.