Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a long-awaited 30-page draft document of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act(CAOA). The bill, developed with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) lays out a plan for federal cannabis reform.

Business Insider put together a useful listicle of eight key takeaways from the bill. They include:

• Cannabis would be de-scheduled.
• It would be federally taxed and regulated in addition to state taxes and regulations.  
• Interstate trade would be allowed. Hated tax law 280E would no-longer affect the industry.
• The bill includes equity provisions.

The industry gave it a B/B+:

• Matt Hawkins, managing partner at Entourage Effect Capital wrote: “Federal legalization could lower the risk of investing in cannabis and allow institutional investors to enter the space. However, the bill’s high tax proposals and lack of guidance on interstate commerce may inadvertently hamper the growth of legal operators.”
• The bill would also enable cannabis companies to trade on U.S. public markets.
  Bloomberg

Conventional wisdom quickly gelled that the bill as written is a “long shot.”
Politico

• President Biden does not support legalization and at least one Democratic Senator opposes it as well. 
• Sen. Booker sat on speculation that the bill could lead to banking reform as a compromise. Booker said he wouldn’t let it happen since it would enrich cannabis executives without correcting the wrongs of prohibition. (FWIW, small equity businesses want banking reform as well.) 
  Marijuana Moment, WeedWeek

Across the aisle: Conservative National Review weighed in on “the marijuana reform we need.“

Also in D.C.: Biden appointed West Virginia health official Rahul Gupta to serve as drug “czar,” head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He’s about as 420-friendly, as drug czars get.
WVMetroNews, Marijuana Moment

The cannabis industry rejoiced in January when Democrats took control of the Senate. Now it looks like any kind of federal reform could still be a long way off. What happened? 

Quite a few smart folks have said that every time a state legalizes that translates into two more legalization supporters in the U.S. Senate. Now it looks like that may not be true.

While former Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner “evolved” in his support for legalization, that may have been more reflective of his own needs running in an increasingly liberal state where cannabis is a priority. 

• Across the border in Oklahoma, where there’s a freewheeling, fast-growing MED industry, neither Republican Senator supports legalization. (However, they don’t oppose it as loudly as many conservative Republicans have done in the past.)
• Legalization has majority support from voters in every, or almost every, state. But the response to Schumer’s bill shows that Senators aren’t as responsive to popular sentiment as governors are, at least on this issue. 
• With the filibuster in place, a bill probably needs 60 votes to pass the Senate. In an evenly divided chamber, Schumers bill will be a big lift.

It’s also possible that while many Democrats and some Republicans support legalization, or at least decriminalization, on paper, they remain uncomfortable with the idea of marijuana regulated like alcohol.  

To test this theory, WeedWeek asked the four members of the House Cannabis Caucus a question:

“Aside from the economic benefits of legalization and the failures of the war on drugs, do you believe universal adult access to commercial marijuana, including high-potency concentrates, is a net benefit for society? Why or why not?” Though these four lawmakers are supposedly the chamber’s strongest legalization supporters, none said “Yes, cannabis access benefits society.”  

• Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Don Young (R-Ak.) didn’t respond.
• Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) dodged the question: “I firmly believe that each state should have the right to determine for itself whether or not to legalize cannabis, and if so, to which extent.”

What do you think? Respond on social media.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to consolidate the state’s three cannabis regulatory agencies into the Department of Cannabis Control. 

• “The creation of a standalone cannabis department…is part of a larger effort to improve access to licensure, simplify regulatory oversight and support California businesses,” according to a press release.
• The department will be led by Nicole Elliott who has been Newsom’s liaison to the industry. Before that she led San Francisco’s Office of Cannabis.