The States 2.0 Act Could Clarify State and Federal Marijuana Rules – Vapor Voice

Given the widespread destruction of federal prohibition on marijuana, growing public support for legalization, and potential excise tax revenue, policymakers are being forced to seriously consider reforming federal marijuana policy. Last December, members of Congress introduced the STATES 2.0 Act, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, legalize its sale and use federally, and allow interstate commerce.

A defederalized ban on marijuana would allow states to decide for themselves whether cannabis would be legal within their borders (as they have done for decades) and how that legal cannabis market would be taxed, the Tax Foundation writes.

The legal markets that do exist are burdened by federal prohibition and punitive taxes, driving prices significantly higher than illicit markets. Empowering black markets is a common unintended consequence of prohibition, and marijuana has been no different, even with existing state legalization. Federal cannabis policy revisions, such as those in the STATES 2.0 Act, would provide much-needed reform to a market struggling with a messy policy landscape.

Regulation of cannabis markets

Rather than enforcing marijuana prohibition through the Drug Enforcement Administration, the STATES 2.0 ACT would rely on the Food and Drug Administration to regulate marijuana products allowed on the U.S. market and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to track products and collect taxes. Federal and state law enforcement could shift their focus and budgets from low-level marijuana possession offenses to removing more dangerous substances from illicit markets and preventing violent and property crimes.

The FDA’s recent failures to properly facilitate a legal vaping market may raise questions about its ability to do the same for cannabis, and there are more effective ways to ensure product safety. However, the STATES 2.0 Act specifies that no premarket approval would be required, which would preclude the kind of disaster that has befallen the vaping market.

Allowing legitimate businesses to produce and sell cannabis products, and banks to do business with a legal cannabis industry, would go a long way toward creating a safe, legal market that could undermine current black markets dominated by cartels.

The STATES 2.0 Act would allow interstate commerce of cannabis and cannabis products when traveling between states that have legalized cannabis within their borders, even when traveling through states that have chosen to keep marijuana illegal.

TTB would be responsible for managing a national track-and-trace system. Similar track-and-trace systems are already in place in states that have legalized recreational marijuana, allowing states to track marijuana plants from seed to sale to consumers.

A federal system managed by TTB could integrate existing state systems into a national database. TTB would also enforce consistent and timely tax collection.