As part of a developing story, more legal-states have joined in support of the STATES Act. Following President Trump’s supportive comment towards state-decided cannabis legalization, 7 mayors now have formed a coalition and sponsored a proposal remove cannabis from the U.S. government list of illegal drugs. The coalitions proposal, which will eventually make its way to federal lawmakers, would provide states protection with the emerging industry, acknowledge the federal government will not use its power to interfere with the industry, provide MMJ access for US veterans, and remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances list allowing banks and other federally backed and protected institutions from working with the industry.
The proposal was unanimously approved by a larger gathering of mayors at Annual US Conference of Mayors in Boston the Monday following the president’s comments. The coalition, made up of cannabis-legal states offer their expertise as cities of who have dealt with the plant on this level. Mayors from cities including Las Vegas Denver, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and West Sacramento proposed the resolution. They later gained pledges of advocacy from Oakland (California) and Thornton (Colorado).
“Cannabis prohibition has failed. It has failed to keep our children safe, it has failed law enforcement, and it has especially failed communities of color disproportionately targeted and prosecuted for low-level drug offenses. Eventually, legalization will come to every state — and we want to make sure it’s done so safely and effectively.”
-Ted Wheeler, Portland Mayor
This coalition aims to “take the right steps to support other local governments as they prepare to enter this new frontier.”
