According to a GOP senator, opponents of marijuana legalization have “lost” the battle to keep prohibition alive and it’s “time” to acknowledge this fact by establishing a framework that would treat cannabis “in the exact same way as we do alcohol and tobacco” so that the states could set their own policy without federal involvement.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, questioned the DEA’s representative about cannabis policy during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Tuesday. The hearing featured representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA), Department of Homeland SecurityDHS), and Federal Bureau of InvestigationFBI.
“I have tried to keep pounding the table and saying, ‘Folks, those of us who were not necessarily eager to legalize pot have lost,'” the senator said. “Most states have some form of legalization.” “I don’t have many emotions, except for the fact I think it is not being regulated properly and that it has become a new distribution channel for cartels.”
Tillis appeared to argue that the lack of federal regulation, as well as the disconnect between the states and federal policy, which has led to a growing legalization in the United States, have created a vacuum, allowing illicit operators thrive.
This situation must be brought under control. “We have to accept that marijuana will be legalized in the United States in some form, as well as in virtually all other states,” said he. We can regulate pot by creating a U.S. Department of Agriculture regime. [and] The following are some of the ways to get in touch with each other: [Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] “We treat alcohol and tobacco in the same manner as we do.”
You can watch the Senator’s comments on the cannabis policy hearing below starting at 2:11:00.
“We’re going to get way down the road without control over inputs, and the next thing the cartels are going to do is figure out how they can put—in the race for potency, once they run out of how you can actually do this through the plants, they’re going to figure out some way to make this more potent and more deadly,” the senator said.
He also said that he feels “very strongly that we need to have a separate meeting about how do we create a construct that, if states want to opt into, they can—not make it legal federally—or this is getting out of control.”
Matthew Allen, DEA special agent in charge of Los Angeles Field Division Matthew Allen spent some time with him on a matter in the home state of his senator. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians legalized medical cannabis and also adult use of marijuana while the rest of California remains in a state of wide prohibition.
Tillis, despite repeatedly calling for federal regulation of marijuana, has always taken issue with policy differences between tribal, state and federal governments. But he acknowledged that “they do have a legal right to sale marijuana as recognized tribes.”
But they are growing one place, and selling another. Not only are they—and let’s face it, folks, it’s a casino operation. This is a tourist destination. He said that people are purchasing this land belonging to the Cherokees, known as the Qualla Boundary. It would be a ludicrous notion to assume that Cherokees will throw out anything not needed by the time of their departure.
Tillis called it an “anomaly,” which is “one of the things that happens when Congress does not act upon something I believe that we should act on”, he said.
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In February of this year, Senator McConnell also brought up the subject during an Senate Banking Committee Hearing, saying that “we need to re-examine [federal marijuana laws].” “But at the same, we damn sure shouldn’t do it… by passing legislation which would prevent federal regulators penalizing banks who work with states-legal cannabis business.”
“If somebody wants to work on rules of the road and do that—and bank the industry in a cohesive, sustainable way that doesn’t kind of skirt around the fact that it’s still illegal at the federal level—count me in. “I’m happy to do it,” Tillis stated.
Tillis also said last December that he’s hopeful Congress will have a “discussion” about potentially creating a federal regulatory framework for marijuana in 2025, though he added that he personally wouldn’t vote to federally legalize cannabis.
In July last year, Senator John McCain said separately that he supported creating “a comprehensive regulatory framework” that treated marijuana like tobacco. He argued that “the Federal Government needs to find a safe and legal way for this market to exist.”
Two months ago, Rep. Dave Joyce introduced again the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act. This act would require the Attorney General to establish a panel that will make recommendations for a cannabis regulatory system similar to the one currently in effect for alcohol.
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Brian Shamblen is the photographer.
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