WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Alaska Congressman Don Young, Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, helped introduce the States Reform Act — legislation to protect state-legal cannabis policies by ending federal marijuana prohibition. Congressman Young is joined on this legislation by Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC), Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA), Congressman Peter Meijer (R-MI), and Congressman Brian Mast (R-FL).
“I am a passionate supporter of a states’ rights approach to cannabis. For too long, the federal government has stood in the way of states that have acted to set their own cannabis policies. It is long past time to update our cannabis laws for the 21st Century,” said Congressman Don Young. “My state legalized adult-use cannabis in 2014, and as Alaska’s sole representative in the House and Co-Chair of the Cannabis Caucus, I am proud to help introduce the States Reform Act. This is commonsense legislation that removes cannabis from Schedule 1 under the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby getting the federal government out of the way of state-legal cannabis use. Too many individuals with otherwise clean records have been incarcerated for non-violent cannabis use. This bill includes crucial provisions allowing for the expungement of federal marijuana convictions of non-violent offenders. I am grateful to Congresswoman Nancy Mace for her leadership on this important issue. As Co-Chair of the Cannabis Caucus, I will continue working to protect individual liberty and the right of states to make their own decisions on cannabis.”
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