Although more than 30 states have legalized cannabis in various forms over the past decade, federal law still classifies cannabis as a controlled substance. With the House, Senate and White House in the Democratic Party’s hands, however, federal cannabis legislation has never had a greater chance of becoming law as it does right now. Unfortunately, President Joe Biden is staunchly against allowing adult-use cannabis, although he does support modest cannabis reform, including medical cannabis and expunging records of prior cannabis related offenses.
But according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Biden’s views on the matter won’t hold him back, and consequently, the Senate will move forward with federal marijuana legislation whether or not the president is on board. For a while now, Schumer has been an outspoken advocate of cannabis reform, first introducing a bill to legalize cannabis back in April 2018. Schumer, whose home state New York recently legalized recreational marijuana, has said he supports federal legalization and that he will soon introduce a federal cannabis reform bill with Senators Ron Wyden and Cory Booker.
Even though the White House isn’t behind broad cannabis legalization, Schumer says the Senate will still take aggressive action to loosen the currently restrictive federal laws on cannabis. Although most cannabis reform opponents said legalizing cannabis would lead to all kinds of social ills, including increased drug use and higher crime rates, Schumer says the fears are unfounded. Most states that legalized cannabis in the past decade have seen more positives than negatives from their legal cannabis markets, including increased job opportunities, social justice, and millions of dollars in tax revenue.
State-legal cannabis markets also proved that the American people wanted to legalize cannabis, says Schumer, adding that if a relatively conservative state such as South Dakota votes in favor of legalizing cannabis, then the tides are definitely changing in favor of legalization. With Democrats now in control of the Senate, he can now put a cannabis reform bill on the floor, something that was basically impossible while Senator Mitch McConnell was in charge.
The only holdout is Biden, who has said that although he supports medical cannabis and record expungement, he isn’t behind legalizing adult-use cannabis. According to Schumer, Biden has said he would like to see more information, and the Senate Majority Leader would be happy to make his arguments and try to evolve his stance on cannabis. If the president doesn’t budge, the Senate will still move forward with cannabis reform without his support.
The entire cannabis sector is holding its breath and doing what it can to operate within the existing legal landscape as the journey of reforming those laws plays out. The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER) is one of the companies that has found success manufacturing CBD-infused products and premium bottled drinking water.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/WTER
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