Res. No. 504
Resolution calling on the United States Congress to reintroduce and pass and the President to sign the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.
By Council Members Hudson, Riley, Williams, Farias, Restler, Hanif and Richardson Jordan
Whereas, There are currently 38 states that have adopted laws allowing for legal access to cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, with 21 of these states adopting laws legalizing cannabis for recreational sale and use; and
Whereas, New York State legalized the recreational sale and use of marijuana in 2021; and
Whereas, Prior to states legalizing marijuana, many states enforced disproportionately punitive drug possession statutes, including one of the toughest in the nation-New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws; and
Whereas, Although dozens of states have legalized cannabis in some capacity, the federal government currently defines cannabis as a banned substance; and
Whereas, Narcotics and other chemicals that are considered controlled substances under the United States Controlled Substances Act are divided into five schedules; and
Whereas, The Schedule I classification applies to a category of substances considered by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) to contain no legitimate medical value and exhibit a high potential of dependence; and
Whereas, Cannabis is a narcotic classified by the federal government as a Schedule I banned substance; and
Whereas, Narcotics that share the same Schedule I classification with marijuana are heroin and “ecstasy;” and
Whereas, During the 117th session of Congress, United States Senator Cory Booker introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act; and
Whereas, The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act aims to help those communities most harmed by over 85 years of cannabis prohibition and remedy the disproportionate collateral consequences that have affected people of color; and
Whereas, The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act seeks to: (i) decriminalize and remove cannabis from the United States Controlled Substances Act, and eliminate prohibitions in states that have chosen to legalize cannabis; (ii) establish a Center for Cannabis Products within United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to regulate the production, distribution, and sales of the cannabis industry; (iii) create a restorative grant program to reinvest in communities and individuals most harmed by the failed “War on Drugs” as well as assist in expunging certain cannabis related convictions; and (iv) prioritize cannabis business licenses be awarded to communities that have been disparately impacted by cannabis laws; and
Whereas, The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would transfer federal jurisdiction over cannabis from the DEA to the FDA and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; and
Whereas, The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act helps create a national approach to the decriminalization of cannabis and assist in addressing the disparate incarceration of people of color; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls United States Congress to reintroduce and pass and the President to sign the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.
WJH
LS 10185
1/11/23