Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) have introduced bipartisan legislation, TheStrengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act of 2018, to remove the threat of federal intervention and prosecution in states that regulate marijuana use and sales. A bipartisan House companion bill has been introduced by Representatives David Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).

This marks the first bicameral, bipartisan legislation to end the federal enforcement of prohibition in states that have reformed their marijuana laws.

Specifically, this legislation:
– Creates an exemption to the Controlled Substances Act for US states and territories that have reformed their laws with regard to marijuana policy, effectively restraining undue federal intervention
– Maintains federal legislative provisions (aka “guardrails”) to deter:
– The interstate trafficking of marijuana into prohibition states from legal states
– The prevention of those under 18 from working in the cannabis industry
– The prevention of those under 21 from purchasing marijuana (unless recommended by a state-qualified physician to treat a medical condition)
– Unsafe production conditions
– Provides greater flexibility for lawmakers in non-legal states to reform their laws in a manner that reflects the will of the of their constituents and regulates cannabis commerce
– Provides the ability for cannabis businesses to obtain basic banking services
– Removes industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act