The new version of the legislation has not yet been made public, according to Marijuana Moment. But when originally introduced, the bill was seen as an alternative to the Marijuana Opportunity and Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a federal cannabis legalization measure supported by many Democrats. The MORE Act was refiled in September by Representative Jerrold Nadler, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, with co-sponsorship from 33 fellow Democrats.
Under the original version of Mace’s bill, cannabis would be removed from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and the states would be allowed to take the lead on marijuana legalization and regulation for their jurisdictions. At the federal level, cannabis would be regulated like alcohol, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for regulating growers while medical uses would be overseen by the Food and Drug Administration.
House Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization BillThe STATES Reform Act also ensures safe harbor for state medical marijuana programs and patient access to medicinal cannabis. The legislation also specifically protects the use of medical cannabis as a treatment for arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, sickle cell disease, HIV/AIDS and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Criminal justice reform provisions of the bill include the release of prisoners convicted of federal nonviolent cannabis-related offenses and the expungement of records of such convictions. Cartel members, agents of cartel gangs, or those convicted of driving under the influence will not be eligible for relief, however. Mace’s office estimated that approximately 2,600 federal prisoners would be released if the legislation is signed into law.
Depends on the state. This is just for removing the federal law against marijuana, states can and probably will still have laws against it. So it'll be up to the state to decide on those two questions, the trend though has been yes to both of them. Looks good for people convicted federally:
But that's probably a small amount of cases pertaining to people crossing state lines with marijuana. Most offenses would probably be at the state level.
The bigger benefit is that federal employees living in states that have legalized it will finally be able to enjoy it
Also anyone working federal contract workers won't have to be worried. My company no longer drug tests because I'm employed in a legal state but the company prohibits pot use and will drug test if the federal contracts asks for it.