{"id":19410,"date":"2024-05-16T14:50:38","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=19410"},"modified":"2025-12-12T10:01:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T15:01:51","slug":"merkley-statement-on-cannabis-rescheduling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/merkley-statement-on-cannabis-rescheduling\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkley Statement on Cannabis Rescheduling"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em>Merkley: \u201cCannabis has not been descheduled, so we still have work to do.\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Washington, D.C. \u2013 Following the Biden administration\u2019s cannabis rescheduling announcement, Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley\u2014a lead sponsor of the <em>Ley Bancaria M\u00c1S SEGURA<\/em>\u2014shared the following statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI pushed the Biden administration to make good on the President\u2019s commitment to address the harms done by the criminalization of cannabis and move swiftly to remove marijuana\u2019s Schedule I status, and it\u2019s good to see action taken. The Biden administration rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III is welcome news and an important step in the right direction. We cannot let up momentum, though. Cannabis has not been descheduled, so we still have work to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cU.S. physician groups, state and national advocates, and broad public opinion all strongly support full legalization. While we continue to push for complete descheduling of cannabis, there are steps we must take in the meantime to protect legal cannabis businesses, users, and community members. Critically, that includes passing my <em>Ley Bancaria M\u00c1S SEGURA <\/em>to ensure legal businesses are able to access banking and financial services. We must recognize that banking for many state-legal cannabis businesses will continue to be inaccessible, and forcing businesses to operate in all-cash is an invitation to money laundering and crime in our communities. Previously, Oregon media <a href=\"https:\/\/www.koin.com\/news\/oregon\/string-of-portland-robberies-highlight-cannabis-industrys-vulnerability\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported on how the current system has led to a spate of dangerous robberies in our communities<\/a>. El <em>Ley Bancaria M\u00c1S SEGURA<\/em> remains unequivocally necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs we continue to update cannabis policy to reflect the will of the majority of our country, it is imperative that we also address the harms perpetuated by the War on Drugs and the criminalization of cannabis on communities of color. Without descheduling, criminal penalties will continue to unfairly upend the lives of some Americans while others\u2014mainly wealthy, white Americans\u2014escape legal consequences. Anything less than complete federal legalization will result in enduring harms shouldered by our most vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI will continue to push for full descheduling of cannabis, work with my Senate colleagues to pass the <em>Ley Bancaria M\u00c1S SEGURA<\/em> into law, and do all I can to champion and pass legislation that centers communities and restorative justice provisions\u2014necessary steps we must take on the path to fully descheduled cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Merkley has been a fierce and longtime leader advocating for sensible cannabis reform and cannabis business laws. Merkley is the lead sponsor on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/merkley-on-introduction-of-safer-banking-act-commitment-to-restorative-justice-provisions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Ley Bancaria M\u00c1S SEGURA<\/em><\/a> and was also the author of its predecessor, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/merkley-daines-joyce-blumenauer-introduce-safe-banking-act-to-improve-community-safety-and-banking-access-for-legal-cannabis-businesses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Ley de Banca Segura<\/em><\/a><em>. <\/em>Last month, Merkley joined colleagues from the House and Senate in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2024.04.24%20Follow-up%20letter%20to%20DEA%20on%20marijuana.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signing a letter<\/a> urging Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram to make good on President Biden\u2019s promise to remove marijuana\u2019s Schedule I status. And in January, Merkley joined Senate colleagues in signing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.warren.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/2024.01.29%20Letter%20to%20DEA%20on%20descheduling%20marijuana.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to remove cannabis<\/a> from the <em>Controlled Substances Act. <\/em>In 2022, Merkley joined colleagues from both chambers in <a href=\"https:\/\/blumenauer.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/blumenauer.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2022-12-22-letter-urging-recognition-of-merits-of-descheduling-1_0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a letter to President Biden<\/a> urging his administration to expeditiously review its cannabis scheduling.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merkley: \u201cCannabis has not been descheduled, so we still have work to do.\u201d Washington, D.C. \u2013 Following the Biden administration\u2019s cannabis rescheduling announcement, Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley\u2014a lead sponsor of the SAFER Banking Act\u2014shared the following statement: \u201cI pushed the Biden administration to make good on the President\u2019s commitment to address the harms done [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":18847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[53,118,44,47],"class_list":["post-19410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-civil-rights","tag-delivering-for-oregon","tag-jobs-and-the-economy","tag-protecting-consumers-taxpayers-and-the-economy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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