Blumenauer Marks Half A Century Of Cannabis Decriminalization In Oregon, Says It's Time For Fed Government To Catch Up

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D), co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus marked the 50th anniversary of Oregon's cannabis decriminalization. In a floor speech on Friday, Blumenauer said he was honored to be a part of the process of Oregon’s marijuana decriminalization half a century ago.

“It’s time for the federal government to catch up,” Blumenauer said.

“We owe it to the generations of Black Americans targeted by the failed war on drugs,” Blumenauer continued. “We owe it to our veterans, with their wounds seen and unseen. We owe it to thousands of workers and their employers who fail drug tests every day because they used state-legal cannabis weeks before. We owe it to the large and growing cannabis industry, whose employees are targets for violent robbery because we deny them bank accounts. We owe it to the American public who are not waiting for the federal government.”

In April, Blumenauer reintroduced Small Business Tax Equity Act, which seeks to amend an IRS code to allow state-legal cannabis businesses to take federal tax deductions.

The proposed bill would offer some relief to cannabis businesses struggling with high tax burdens. The current 280E code denies deductions and credits to any company involved in the trafficking of controlled substances, including marijuana. It's a “major area of discrimination” and “hopelessly unfair” against the cannabis industry, Blumenauer said in April during a virtual media event discussing the latest developments in cannabis policy.

At that time he urged the federal government to catch up on marijuana policies.

When will the urging have an effect? It will likely depend on the next administration. As the GOP  primary heats up, numerous presidential hopefuls are announcing their views on the topic. Ron DeSantis recently made it clear that marijuana decriminalization is not on his agenda, to which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D) quickly responded with a confirmation that he would.

Either way, legalization advocates seem not to be backing down nor should they. Regardless of who ends up in the White House and what his/her stance is at the moment, u-turns among politicians are known to happen.

See also: 16 Bipartisan Congress Members Urge Biden Administration To Make Cannabis Scheduling Review Transparent

Photo: Benzinga edit with images from Wikimedia Commons and Holi Concentrates on Unsplash