Congress’s first-ever subcommittee-level hearing on cannabis legalization was held on Wednesday. The generally constructive House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee discussion was only one Capitol Hill marijuana reform movement in which California Congressional representatives played featured roles.
Marijuana Moment
- Expungements and social equity were key discussion points. Rep. Ro Khanna (D- Silicon Valley) tweeted, “While investors make millions from the marijuana industry in states where it’s legal, people continue to hold criminal records for possession. California will tackle this grave injustice by clearing or reducing 220,000 marijuana convictions.”
- Calling marijuana reform possibly “one of the very few issues upon which bipartisan agreement can still be reached in this session,” Tom McClintock (R- went on to allege that Democratic leadership “has decided to play the race card in this hearing” by framing the issue in racial justice terms. New York Democrat Jerrold Nadler responded. “To point that out and to seek to cure that is not to inflame racial divisions,” he said. “It’s simply to point out a fact of life and try to cure it.”
- On Thursday the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee met privately on potential benefits of cannabis for veterans. Rep. Mark Takano chaired the meeting and afterwards described the session as a critical education session. “We came together today with experts, researchers, and veterans to discuss the best bipartisan path forward for VA sponsored medicinal cannabis research,” Takano said.
Quick Hit
- Around America lots of legal cannabis runs on word of mouth and handwritten records, which can result in inaccuracies and even liabilities for both businesses and companies. Toward fixing that government software behemoth Accela has partnered up with Los Angeles-based tech startup Kind Financial to launch a cloud-based seed-to-sale solution called “the biggest gov tech deal ever.”
Forbes
