RESPECT Resolution

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 960 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 960

 Urging action to increase equity within cannabis policy and the legal 
                         cannabis marketplace.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 11, 2024

  Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Johnson of 
 Georgia, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Adams, 
    and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
   the Committees on the Judiciary, Education and the Workforce, and 
  Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Urging action to increase equity within cannabis policy and the legal 
                         cannabis marketplace.

Whereas persons and communities continue to be negatively impacted by cannabis 
        policies and marijuana's status as a scheduled substance under the 
        Controlled Substances Act;
Whereas the persons and communities that have been most harmed by marijuana 
        prohibition are benefitting the least from the legal cannabis 
        marketplace and other cannabis policy reforms;
Whereas a legacy of racial and ethnic injustices, compounded by the 
        disproportionate collateral consequences of 80 years of marijuana 
        prohibition and enforcement, now limits access to public benefits, such 
        as nutritional assistance, housing, education and economic 
        opportunities, including participation in the cannabis industry;
Whereas 24 States as well as the District of Columbia and the territories of 
        Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin 
        Islands have legalized cannabis use for adults and 38 now allow some 
        form of medical cannabis;
Whereas the United States cannabis market currently stands at around $65 billion 
        in annual revenue, and by 2030, this number is expected to balloon to 
        $100 billion if cannabis is federally legalized;
Whereas the failed war on drugs has cost the United States roughly $1 trillion, 
        with economists estimating that criminal justice expenditures related to 
        the marijuana prohibition costs States roughly $6 billion and the 
        Federal Government $4 billion per year;
Whereas people of color have been historically victimized by discriminatory 
        sentencing practices, resulting in Black men receiving drug sentences 
        that are 13.4 times greater than sentences imposed for White men, and 
        non-White persons accounted for 86.5 percent of cannabis convictions;
Whereas, according to the ACLU, Black people are 3.64 times more likely than 
        White people to be arrested for cannabis possession, even though usage 
        rates are comparable;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of people continue to be arrested every year for 
        cannabis violations, primarily at the State level, and that the Federal 
        placement of cannabis in the Controlled Substances Act is often cited as 
        a reason for States not to legalize cannabis;
Whereas the decriminalization of cannabis possession has proved to reduce the 
        disparity in arrest rates between Black and White men by almost 20 
        percent, as well as reducing total arrest rates by over 70 percent among 
        adults;
Whereas the criminalization of cannabis results in the detention and subsequent 
        deportation of countless immigrants seeking to build better lives for 
        themselves and their families in the United States;
Whereas, as a noncitizen merely working for a State-licensed marijuana business 
        and otherwise fully compliant with all Federal and State laws can still 
        be deported due to the placement of marijuana in the Controlled 
        Substances Act;
Whereas cannabis policies continue to punish people for personal cannabis use 
        and possession, as well as legal records and consequences associated 
        with cannabis violations;
Whereas non-White ownership of cannabis businesses shrank in 2022 to 15.4 
        percent from 20.7 percent in 2021;
Whereas cannabis businesses are limited by numerous laws, regulations, taxes, 
        and prohibitive permit applications and licensing fees in these States, 
        which can total more than $100,000, with annual renewal fees also 
        exceeding $100,000;
Whereas historically disproportionate arrest and conviction rates make it 
        particularly difficult for people of color to enter the legal cannabis 
        marketplace, as most States bar these individuals from participating;
Whereas Federal law severely limits access to loans and capital for cannabis 
        businesses, disproportionately impacting minority small business owners;
Whereas the World Health Organization reported that about 2.5 percent of the 
        global population use cannabis, and disparate legal outcomes pertaining 
        to the substance have been replicated in foreign states;
Whereas cannabis and cannabis resin, including extracts and tinctures of 
        cannabis, are classified by the United Nations (UN) as a Schedule I drug 
        under UN drug control treaties such as the Single Convention on Narcotic 
        Drugs;
Whereas the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug is outdated and the 
        U.S. should be leading the way on cannabis reform at the multilateral 
        level;
Whereas foreign states such as Canada, Luxembourg, Malta, Thailand, and Uruguay 
        have legalized cannabis for recreational use, and multiple others 
        including Mexico, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, and South Africa have taken 
        steps to legalize cannabis;
Whereas additional foreign states would reevaluate how cannabis is classified in 
        their countries if the United Nations did so; and
Whereas an increasing number of States and municipalities have taken proactive 
        steps to acknowledge and address the harms of cannabis criminalization, 
        advance equity in cannabis policy, and mitigate inequalities in the 
        legal cannabis marketplace: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Realizing Equitable & Sustainable 
Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades Resolution'' or the ``RESPECT 
Resolution''.

SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES AND STEPS TO ADVANCE EQUITY IN CANNABIS POLICY; 
              ADDRESS DISPARITIES IN THE CANNABIS MARKETPLACE 
              PARTICIPATION; ADDRESS, REVERSE, AND REPAIR CERTAIN 
              EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON DRUGS.

    (a) In General.--The House of Representatives encourages States and 
localities to adopt best practices and take bold steps referred to in 
subsection (b) to advance equity in cannabis policy and address 
disparities in the cannabis marketplace participation and to address, 
reverse, and repair the most egregious effects of the War on Drugs on 
communities of color, in particular to those who now hold criminal 
records for a substance that is now legal and regulated.
    (b) Best Practices and Steps.--The practices and steps referred to 
in this subsection include--
            (1) eliminating State and local criminal penalties for the 
        possession and use of cannabis and ensuring that public 
        benefits cannot be denied to persons due to a cannabis 
        conviction;
            (2) establishing licensing and application fees that are 
        reasonable to cover only the costs of program implementation 
        and necessary regulations;
            (3) creating a system where licensing is to be obtained at 
        the city or county level and should be based on regulations 
        determined by the local jurisdiction that meet the State's 
        minimum requirements, which allows the community to determine 
        the type and number of businesses, avoids arbitrary caps on 
        licenses, and results in an industry more representative of the 
        local market;
            (4) in States where license caps are completely 
        unavoidable, establishing local oversight and control of 
        cannabis licenses by allowing local cities and municipalities 
        to prioritize licenses for local citizens and residents, 
        especially individuals most impacted by the War on Drugs, by 
        taking into account and prioritizing--
                    (A) long-term residency within the State or 
                locality;
                    (B) individuals whose income is less than 80 
                percent of the median household income within a county;
                    (C) individuals who have been formerly 
                incarcerated;
                    (D) individuals with prior drug law violations;
                    (E) individuals living within a jurisdiction that 
                is heavily policed; and
                    (F) policies and regulations that truly prevent 
                large companies and wealthy investors from obtaining 
                significant revenue generated by license holders who 
                have been prioritized for ownership for the reasons 
                described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) above and 
                for equity-based prioritizations determined by the 
                State;
            (5) adopting laws and implementing regulations that will 
        allow small cultivators to thrive in the legal market;
            (6) creating more equitable licensing by--
                    (A) eliminating broad felony restrictions for 
                licensing;
                    (B) focusing restrictions on entering the market to 
                those, determined on a case-by-case basis for both 
                licensees and employees, with criminal convictions that 
                are relevant to the owning and operating of a business; 
                and
                    (C) prohibiting previous cannabis convictions from 
                consideration as justification for a denial of a 
                license;
            (7) creating an automatic process, at no cost for the 
        individual, for the expungement or sealing of criminal records 
        for cannabis offenses that is inclusive of individuals 
        currently on parole or under any probationary agreement, for 
        cannabis offenses, and provides notification and certification 
        of the expungement or sealing;
            (8) establishing a process for resentencing persons serving 
        sentences for cannabis convictions and redesignating of 
        penalties for persons previously convicted of cannabis-related 
        crimes for which the penalties have been reduced or removed;
            (9) eliminating suspicion-less drug testing for non safety-
        sensitive employment positions;
            (10) eliminating punishment or other penalization for 
        persons currently under parole, probation, or other State 
        supervision, or released on bail awaiting trial, for conduct 
        otherwise allowed under State cannabis laws, and allowing the 
        medical use of cannabis by incarcerated person if recommended 
        by their physician;
            (11) setting aside a percentage of the tax revenue from 
        cannabis sales to be reinvested in communities that have been 
        most affected by cannabis arrests and the drug war, which most 
        frequently have been communities of color, including programs 
        for job training, reentry services, expungement expenses, 
        public libraries, community centers, programs and opportunities 
        dedicated to youth, and health education programs;
            (12) using a percentage of tax revenue to establish a 
        special fund to provide small business investments to support 
        people of color entering into the legal cannabis industry;
            (13) establishing cannabis regulatory and oversight bodies 
        and commissions that reflect the racial, ethnic, economic, and 
        gender makeup of the surrounding community;
            (14) creating employment and subcontracting requirements 
        for cannabis licensees in order to use the ancillary business 
        activity generated by the cannabis industry to employ people of 
        color; and
            (15) including provisions designating spaces for public 
        consumption, either by the licensing of social entities or by 
        creating these spaces.

SEC. 3. DESCHEDULING CANNABIS GLOBALLY.

    It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
should direct the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and the Commission 
on Narcotic Drugs to seek to deschedule cannabis from the international 
drug control treaties, expunge and forgive legal penalties relating to 
certain low-level marijuana offenses, and treat cannabis as a legal 
commodity.
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