Schumer introduces long-awaited marijuana reform bill

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday filed his bill to remove marijuana from the federal controlled substances list and effectively allow states to continue to decide how to regulate cannabis.

The legislation, first announced in April by the New York Democrat, is expected to face an uphill battle.

In addition to the descheduling, the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act would funnel an undefined percentage of industry income tax revenues into small loans for women- and minority-owned cannabis businesses.

Schumer’s bill is co-sponsored by the following senators:

• Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent
• Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat
• Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat

The bill would not change federal authorities’ ability to prosecute trafficking between marijuana-legal states and states where cannabis is illegal.