The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act () was a bill proposed in the

115th United States Congress The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January ...

that would recognize

legalization of cannabis The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These ...

and the U.S. state laws that have legalized it through their legislatures or citizen

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...

. It was introduced on June 7, 2018 by Senators

Cory Gardner Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional dis ...

(Republican from Colorado) and

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

(Democrat from Massachusetts). A companion bill was introduced the same day in the House of Representatives, sponsored by

Earl Blumenauer Earl Francis Blumenauer ( ; born August 16, 1948) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1996. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River. A member of the Democrat ...

(Democrat from Oregon) and David Joyce (Republican from Ohio). The act would amend the

Controlled Substances Act of 1970 The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances is regulated. It was passed by the 91st United States ...

to exempt from federal enforcement individuals or corporations in states who are in compliance with U.S. state,

U.S. territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

and the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, or

tribal law A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law". Customary law (also, consuetudina ...

on cannabis, with certain additional provisions such as minimum ages. The banking provisions of the STATES Act have been reintroduced as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 in the 116th U.S. Congress by

Ed Perlmutter Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan are ...

(Democrat from Colorado) in the House, and by Jeff Merkley (Democrat from Oregon) in the Senate. , the House bill had 206 cosponsors, and the Senate bill had 33 cosponsors.

History

According to

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

, "The impetus for the legislation was a decision by Attorney General

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United States ...

in January to rescind Obama-era Justice Department guidelines that encouraged prosecutors to adopt a hands-off approach to marijuana law enforcement in states where the substance was legal", referring to the

Cole Memorandum The Cole Memorandum was a United States Department of Justice memorandum issued August 29, 2013, by United States Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole during the presidency of Barack Obama. The memorandum, sent to all United States Attorneys, g ...

provisions rescinded on January 4, 2018. On April 25, 2018, Senators Cory Gardner and Elizabeth Warren announced that they would introduce a bipartisan bill to prevent Federal interference with states that had legalized marijuana. The announcement came a few days after Senator Gardner spoke with President Trump and announced that he had received assurances that the President would support such legislation. As of late April, the details of the bill were unannounced but analysts said it "would not legalize cannabis nationally, but would allow each state the options of legalizing recreational or medical cannabis, or to continue to prohibit the plant entirely" and had announced the name of the bill. On June 7, 2018, Warren introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate and Representative David Joyce introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate bill was referred to the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

and the House bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the

House Energy and Commerce Committee The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...

. In December 2018, Gardner attempted to attach the bill as an amendment to the

First Step Act The First Step Act, formally known as the Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act, is a bipartisan criminal justice bill passed by the 115th Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in Decembe ...

, a

criminal justice reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...

bill being debated in the Senate during the

lame-duck session A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a sine die adjou ...

of the

115th U.S. Congress The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January 3 ...

, but was blocked by a procedural maneuver from

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

Mitch McConnell. The STATES Act was reintroduced in the

116th Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on Janua ...

on April 4, 2019, in both the House
H.R.2093
and the Senate
S.1028
.

Cosponsors and support

Senate

# Sen.

( Democratic- MA; original sponsor) # Sen.

(

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

- CO; original cosponsor) # Sen. Rand Paul (Republican- KY; original cosponsor) # Sen.

Catherine Cortez Masto Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Nevada, a seat she has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Cortez Masto served as the 32nd ...

(Democratic- NV; original cosponsor) # Sen.

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after Su ...

(Republican- AK; original cosponsor) # Sen.

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. se ...

(Democratic- NJ; original cosponsor; Senate Judiciary Committee Member) # Sen. Dan Sullivan (Republican-AK; original cosponsor) # Sen. Michael Bennet (Democratic-CO; original cosponsor) # Sen. Jeff Flake (Republican- AZ; cosponsored on June 18, 2018; Senate Judiciary Committee Member) # Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Democratic- MN; cosponsored on June 18, 2018; Senate Judiciary Committee Member) # Sen.

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she wa ...

(Democratic- CA; cosponsored on September 12, 2018; Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member)

House

# Rep. David Joyce (Republican OH-14; original sponsor) # Rep.

(Democratic OR-3; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Carlos Curbelo Carlos Luis Curbelo (born March 1, 1980) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 26th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. In 2018, he was narrowly defeated for re-election by Democrat Debbie Mucarse ...

(Republican FL-26; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...

(Democratic CO-2; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Ken Buck Kenneth Robert Buck (born February 16, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Colorado's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2015. From March 30, 2019, to March 27, 2021, Buck s ...

(Republican CO-4; original cosponsor; House Judiciary Committee Member) # Rep.

Barbara Lee Barbara Jean Lee (née Tutt; born July 16, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for . Now in her 12th term, Lee has served since 1998, and is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 9th ...

(Democratic

CA-13 California's 13th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Barbara Lee, a Democrat, has represented this district since January 2013. The 13th district no longer consists of the northwestern port ...

; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Walter B. Jones Jr. Walter Beaman Jones Jr. (February 10, 1943 – February 10, 2019) was an American politician who served twelve terms in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party for from 1995 until his death in 2019. The di ...

(Republican NC-3; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Diana DeGette Diana Louise DeGette (; born July 29, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 ...

(Democratic CO-1; original cosponsor; House Energy and Commerce Committee Member) # Rep.

Rod Blum Rodney Leland Blum (; born April 26, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 2014 a ...

(Republican IA-1; original cosponsor) # Rep. Steve Cohen (Democratic TN-9; original cosponsor; House Judiciary Committee Member) # Rep.

Matt Gaetz Matthew Louis Gaetz II ( ; born May 7, 1982) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2017. A Republican, he has been described as an ally of former president Donald Trump, as well as a proponen ...

(Republican FL-1; original cosponsor; House Judiciary Committee Member) # Del.

Eleanor Holmes Norton Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Ea ...

(Democratic DC-AL; original cosponsor; non-voting member) # Rep.

Tom McClintock Thomas Miller McClintock II (; born July 10, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. His district stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to the outer suburbs of Fresno; it includes Yosemite National ...

(Republican CA-4; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Lou Correa Jose Luis Correa ( ; born January 24, 1958) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. His district is based in Orange County and includes the communities of Anaheim and Santa Ana, as well as ...

(Democratic CA-46; original cosponsor) # Rep. Jason Lewis (Republican MN-2; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Ro Khanna Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incu ...

(Democratic CA-17; original cosponsor) # Rep.

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (an ...

(Republican MI-3; cosponsored on June 8, 2018) # Rep. Charlie Crist (Democratic FL-13; cosponsored on June 8, 2018) # Rep.

Dana Rohrabacher Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher (; born June 21, 1947) is a former American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 2019. A Republican, he represented for the last three terms of his House tenure. Rohrabacher ran for r ...

(Republican CA-48; cosponsored on June 12, 2018) # Rep. Dina Titus (Democratic NV-1; cosponsored on June 12, 2018) # Rep.

Mike Coffman Michael Harold Coffman (born March 19, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps serving as Mayor of Aurora, Colorado since 2019. A Republican, Coffman served as the U.S. representative for ...

(Republican CO-6; cosponsored on June 14, 2018) # Rep. Jacky Rosen (Democratic NV-3; cosponsored on June 14, 2018) # Rep.

Thomas Massie Thomas Harold Massie (born January 13, 1971) is an American politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, Massie has been the United States representative for Kentucky's 4th congressional district since 2012, when he defeated Bi ...

(Republican KY-4; cosponsored on July 10, 2018) # Rep.

(Democratic

CO-7 Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Formerly located only in the northeast part of the state, the district now encompasses the western parts of the Denver metropolitan area, including ...

; cosponsored on July 10, 2018) # Rep.

Duncan D. Hunter Duncan Duane Hunter (born December 7, 1976) is an American former politician and United States Marine who served as a U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2020. He is a member of the Republican Party, who was first elected to the House in 2008 ...

(Republican CA-50; cosponsored on July 25, 2018) # Rep.

Chellie Pingree Chellie Marie Pingree ( ; ''née'' Johnson; born April 2, 1955) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, her district includes most of the southern part of the state, inclu ...

(Democratic ME-1; cosponsored on July 25, 2018) # Rep.

Raúl Labrador Raúl Rafael Labrador (born December 8, 1967) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General-elect of Idaho. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the Idaho Republican Party from 2019 to 2020 and served as the U.S. Repre ...

(Republican ID-1; cosponsored on August 10, 2018; House Judiciary Committee Member) # Rep. Tim Ryan (Democratic OH-13; cosponsored on August 10, 2018) # Rep.

Ryan Costello Ryan Anthony Costello (born September 7, 1976) is an American politician, lobbyist and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representa ...

(Republican PA-6; cosponsored on September 6, 2018; House Energy and Commerce Committee Member) # Rep.

Suzanne Bonamici Suzanne Marie Bonamici ( ; born October 14, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district, a seat she was first elected to in a 2012 special election. The district includes m ...

(Democratic OR-1; cosponsored on September 6, 2018) # Rep. Adam Smith (Democratic WA-9; cosponsored on December 10, 2018) # Del.

Madeleine Bordallo Madeleine Mary Zeien Bordallo (; born May 31, 1933) is an American-Guamanian politician who served as the delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2019. She is the first woman ever to serve as Guam's ...

(Democratic GU-AL; cosponsored on December 10, 2018; non-voting member) # Rep. Jim McGovern (Democratic MA-2; cosponsored on December 10, 2018) # Rep.

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the fi ...

(Democratic HI-2; cosponsored on December 10, 2018) # Rep. Suzan DelBene (Democratic WA-1; cosponsored on December 10, 2018) # Rep.

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senat ...

(Democratic TX-16; cosponsored on December 10, 2018) # Rep.

Denny Heck Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th lieutenant governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 10th con ...

(Democratic WA-10; cosponsored on December 10, 2018) # Rep.

Jared Huffman Jared William Huffman (born February 18, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 2nd congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2012, Huffman w ...

(Democratic CA-2; cosponsored on December 11, 2018) # Rep.

Brad Sherman Bradley James Sherman (born October 24, 1954) is an American accountant and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 30th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he first entered Congress in ...

(Democratic CA-30; cosponsored on December 11, 2018) # Rep.

Zoe Lofgren Susan Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren ( ; born December 21, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a U.S. representative from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Lofgren is in her 13th term in Congress, having been first elected in ...

(Democratic

CA-19 California's 19th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, currently represented by . The district covers much of Santa Clara County, including most of the city of San Jose. Following redistricting i ...

; cosponsored on December 11, 2018; House Judiciary Committee Member) # Rep.

Peter DeFazio Peter Anthony DeFazio (; born May 27, 1947) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, Roseburg, Coos B ...

(Democratic

OR-4 Oregon's 4th congressional district represents the southern half of Oregon's coastal counties, including Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, and Benton counties and most of Linn and Josephine counties. It is centered around the state's two college ...

; cosponsored on December 11, 2018) # Rep.

Michelle Lujan Grisham Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham (; born October 24, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of governors of New Mexico, 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

(Democratic NM-1; cosponsored on December 12, 2018) # Rep.

Darren Soto Darren Michael Soto (born February 25, 1978) is an American attorney and Democratic politician from Kissimmee, Florida, who is the U.S. representative for Florida's 9th district. Before his election to Congress, Soto served four years in th ...

(Democratic FL-9; cosponsored on December 12, 2018) # Rep.

Betty McCollum Betty Louise McCollum (born July 12, 1954) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 2001. She is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). McCollum's district centers on St. Paul, Minnesota's ...

(Democratic

MN-4 Minnesota's 4th congressional district covers nearly all of Ramsey County, and part of Washington County. It includes all of St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח ( ...

; cosponsored on December 12, 2018) # Rep.

Rick Nolan Richard Michael Nolan (born December 17, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative from Minnesota's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. He previously served as the U.S. representative from ...

(Democratic MN-8; cosponsored on December 12, 2018) # Rep.

Adam Schiff Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Par ...

(Democratic

CA-28 California's 28th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, in Los Angeles County. The district is regarded as a Democratic stronghold and has been held by the Democratic Party since 2003 and is curren ...

; cosponsored on December 13, 2018)

State governors

# Gov.

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

(

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

- AK; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...

( Democratic- CA; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...

(Democratic- CO; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov. Larry Hogan (

- MD; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...

(Republican- MA; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Brian Sandoval Brian Edward Sandoval (; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...

(Republican- NV; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germa ...

(Democratic- NJ; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...

(Democratic- NY; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Doug Burgum Douglas James Burgum (born August 1, 1956) is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and politician serving as the 33rd governor of North Dakota since 2016. He is a member of the Republican Party. Burgum was born and raised in the small to ...

(Republican- ND; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

(Democratic- OR; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 gu ...

(Democratic- PA; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018) # Gov.

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Represent ...

(Democratic- WA; signed letter of support on June 8, 2018)

Native American tribes

The

Suquamish Tribe The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American people, located in present-day Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish people. Today, most Suquamish people are enrolled in the federally recognized Suquam ...

in Washington State, one of the first tribes with legal cannabis sales, indicated support for the bill.

Advocacy groups

The act was endorsed by conservative advocacy group

Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States funded by Charles Koch and formerly his brother David. As the Koch brothers' primary political advocacy group, it is one ...

when it was introduced in November 2021. The act was endorsed by

Law Enforcement Action Partnership The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their ex ...

in November 2021.

Corporations

The act was endorsed by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

in January, 2022. The company told ''The Washington Post'' the reason was to reduce impediments to hiring, and that it had "no plans to sell cannabis".

Reactions

President Donald Trump said he "probably will end up supporting" the bill on June 8, 2018. The same day, twelve governors, from West Coast states that had legalized cannabis for adult use, plus Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota and Pennsylvania, sent a letter to Congress urging passage of the measure. ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''s editorial board endorsed the proposal under a headline that said it was "kickstarting Congress' effort to legalize marijuana". A spokesperson for the

Marijuana Policy Project The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff. Its stated aims are to: (1) increase public support for non-pu ...

called the STATES Act "the most significant piece of marijuana-related legislation ever introduced in Congress." Writing for Above the Law, a legal analysis website for attorneys, cannabis law specialist Hilary Bricken wrote that it was "for the first time ever, a real and legitimate bipartisan 'respect states' rights' effort" on "meaningful marijuana law reform at the Congressional level". In testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 10, 2019, then-Attorney General

William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump. Born and raised in New York City, Barr ...

said he preferred the legislation over the "intolerable" status quo of conflicting state and federal laws. According to

NORML The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both medical and non-medical use. Acc ...

political director Justin Strekal, as of 2019 the STATES Act is looking basic and dated compared to newer legislation that goes beyond carving out exceptions to prohibition to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act entirely, take steps to repair prohibition's harms, forgive past criminal convictions, and build an equitable industry.

References

External links

Text of bill
(via U.S. Congress official website) {{Portal bar, Cannabis, Law, United States 2018 cannabis law reform Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress

History

Cosponsors and support

Senate

House

State governors

Native American tribes

Advocacy groups

Corporations

Reactions

See also

References

Further reading

External links