Rep. Nancy Mace Confident Her States Reform Act Will Get A Hearing In Congress

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), a Republican congresswoman who championed the States Reform Act - a cannabis reform bill - says she has received assurances that there will be a hearing on her proposal even as a minority member of the chamber, reported Marijuana Moment. Mace spoke about the bill during an interview published Thursday with the Psychoactive podcast.

Mace also said that recent internal polling she’s done for her reelection campaign has shown voters in her district support her views on cannabis even as her primary election challenger (and her own party) have criticized her reform efforts, which she laid out in mid-November, 2021 along with at least a half-dozen Republicans co-sponsors.

The plan would essentially legalize cannabis on a federal level “in a manner consistent with the right of states to determine what level of cannabis reform or legalization each state wants to regulate, or not.”

Regarding Mace's position on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) Marijuana Opportunity, Expungement and Reinvestment (MORE) Act, the congresswoman said she respects the process. “MORE is going to come up again," Mace said.

However, "It’ll die in the Senate,” she added. “And so when that’s done, we will do our hearing, and there was nothing done in exchange for it. I just made the ask and we’re making it happen.”

In an exclusive interview with Benzinga, Bradley Cobb, renowned cannabis lobbyist and lawyer said the States Reform Act is “very attractive because it vests most of the authority with the state-level folks.”

On January 25, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN announced its support for the Republican-backed congressional bill that would legalize cannabis at the federal level and allow states to decide how and whether to ban or regulate it.

Highlights Of The Bill

• Federally decriminalized cannabis and fully defers to state powers over prohibition and commercial regulation.
• Regulates cannabis products like alcohol products.
• Institutes a 3% federal excise tax on those products to fund law enforcement and small business programs.

Image Via El Planteo.