Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Oreg.) — one of the leading members of Congress pushing to end the federal prohibition of cannabis — argues the federal government is "disconnected from reality" when it comes to legal marijuana.
"The federal government is still living in the era of reefer madness," said Wyden in an interview with Yahoo Finance Live. "The feds are just completely disconnected with what's really going on out on the ground across America."
Wyden pointed to his home state of Oregon — which legalized adult marijuana use in 2014 — as evidence that ending the federal prohibition would work.
"Skeptics said, 'Oh my goodness, Western civilization is going to end. People are going to be so confused. The law isn't going to work.' We didn't see any of that, and revenue — which is used for priorities like education and mental health — has gone up six-fold in a very short time."
Wyden, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) unveiled a draft of their proposal on July 14. The plan would remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances, expunge non-violent convictions, create grant programs to aid small businesses and restorative justice programs, and would tax and regulate cannabis.
Wyden, who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the trio wanted to tax marijuana in a way similar to tobacco and alcohol.
"We wanted to give a real leg up to small businesses and minority entrepreneurs. So for example, the tax rate for them would be something like one-half of what it is for the big guys," said Wyden. "The money goes to try to address some of the harm that was caused by the failed War on Drugs, and particularly give our small businesses a real shot at creating good-paying jobs."
The draft bill will face a serious challenge in the Senate and it doesn't yet have the backing of the White House. The proposed legislation goes beyond decriminalization, which President Biden said he supported on the campaign trail.
When asked about the proposal on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters "nothing has changed" about Biden's position.
"So often on these kinds of issues, political change is sort of grassroots up. It's not coming from necessarily the top," said Wyden. "I think there are a lot of powerful arguments to make this a bipartisan issue as we go. I mean, the fact is blue states and red states have legalized. The fact is that we have a powerful state rights argument."
The legislation would end federal prohibition and let states make their own decisions on cannabis.
Wyden said the bill would likely come before the Senate Finance Committee, which will have hearings on the topic. The senators are asking for input on the plan before September 1.
"This is going to promote the opportunity for safer and fairer conduct with respect to cannabis in every part of the country with sensible oversight, sensible health policy, sensible tax policies," said Wyden.
Jessica Smith is chief political correspondent for Yahoo Finance, based in Washington, D.C.
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