After introducing new draft legislation last week to end the federal prohibition of marijuana alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Oreg.), Sen. Cory Booker made it a point to emphasize that any marijuana legislation that didn’t also correct America’s failed “war on drugs” wouldn’t be going far enough.
At the press conference unveiling the progressive bill, known as the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which seeks to expunge the records of non-violent cannabis offenders, Booker noted he’d do everything he could to stop other marijuana reform bills that lack social reforms but offer ways for “corporations to make a lot more money off of this.” Cannabis stocks sold off as investors interpreted that as a slight at the more moderate SAFE Banking Act, which would open access to traditional financial services for cannabis companies that have had to largely operate as cash-only businesses.
In a new interview with Yahoo Finance Wednesday, Booker clarified his stance a bit to affirm his support for the bipartisan SAFE Banking Act, conceding it could be a sweetener to get moderates on board with more progressive reforms.
“Don’t get me wrong, I support the SAFE Banking Act. I think it’s a phenomenal bill,” he said. “For me, a good bipartisan bill like the banking bill is a necessary sweetener to get people to move along on the equitable justice elements that are really critical.” [Read More @ Yahoo News]
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