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Joyce’s office said he reached out to Democrats to try and forge consensus on the best approach to overhauling federal cannabis laws. Joyce’s office circulated a memo among Republicans earlier this week outlining his critiques of the MORE Act and why he intended to vote against it - and inviting discussion on Republican approaches to marijuana policy. Dave Joyce of Ohio, a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. “Nonetheless, if I have to choose between nothing and something that, going forward, will not put our children, our neighbors or friends in jail - I’ll choose the latter.” Working across the aisleĬonspicuously absent from the “ayes” on Friday were some of the most pro-cannabis Republican voices on Capitol Hill, including Mace and Rep.

“We need those social equity programs,” one moderate Democrat lawmaker said, granted anonymity to speak candidly about his leadership’s strategy. Given that Democrats may not control both houses of Congress come January, the window for federal cannabis policy change may not be open much longer. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), are working on their own comprehensive cannabis bill - is even tougher ground for weed.īooker and Schumer have drawn a line in the sand on marijuana policy, refusing to even hold a hearing on a cannabis banking bill the House has approved six times because it does not address criminal justice reform.īut Democrats’ pursuit of their perfect bill worries some pro-cannabis lawmakers and advocates, who do not see a clear path forward for sweeping drug policy changes under Republican leadership in either chamber - especially the Senate. In her weekly news conference, she touted the criminal justice and economic provisions of the bill, and explained that the lack of similar provisions in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was one reason that it failed in the upper chamber. In fact, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday went so far as to frame the MORE Act as a criminal justice reform bill. “So negotiating that away - to leave behind - that to me is just immoral.” Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. “This is a major criminal justice reform bill,” said Rep. “You’ve got to have Republicans on board if we’re going to have any chance of getting it done in the Senate.”įor many Democrats, however, the equity grant programs are nonnegotiable. The federal social equity efforts were a major reason for her “nay” vote on Friday. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who introduced a bill last year that decriminalizes cannabis and expunges some records but does not create federal grant programs. “You’re not going to be able to get Republicans on board… the way that the MORE Act is done,” said Rep. The MORE Act debate underlined a fundamental question that divides the parties: When changing the nation’s drug laws, should the federal government also take steps to provide financial incentives to individuals and communities who were most harshly impacted by the war on drugs? That was fewer than the five GOP lawmakers who backed the bill in 2020 - two are no longer in Congress. Despite growing support among GOP lawmakers for legalization and polling that shows two-thirds of Americans back that stance, just three Republicans voted for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act.

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Today’s vote highlighted the growing rift between the parties - and even among Democrats - on how to address cannabis policy. I'm blessed to have acquired my journalistic abilities, and while I'm no entrepreneur, I believe the Lord put me in this position for a purpose, and right now, I believe that purpose is to share your voice.Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to introduce his own cannabis bill soon, but does not currently have the Democrat votes to pass it, let alone the Republicans needed to overcome a filibuster. In 2008, I returned home, broke into the local news industry, and worked my way from the bottom (a 7 month unpaid internship) to the top of my field (lead anchor) by the age of 33, while also learning most other newsroom roles in between. I was born and raised on a farm in Ka'a'awa, graduated from Kahuku High School in 2004, then went on to wrestle at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. While I alone with limited resources cannot currently compete side by side with mainstream media, what I can offer our community right now are honest stories reported with aloha, through the eyes of a local boy.

Over the past two months I've received countless messages of support from locals both near and far, pointing out the need for an independent source for news in Hawaii. My name is Brenton Awa, a native Hawaiian and former news anchor out of Kahalu'u, Oahu. It's time to revolutionize Hawaii's local news industry.

Brenton awa