WASHINGTON, DC—Right now, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Hashish Caucus, accepted the inaugural Earl Blumenauer Trailblazer Award from NORML on the 2024 Nationwide Hashish Pageant Coverage Summit. The award celebrates lawmakers who pave the best way in direction of the legalization of hashish.
“This can be a nice honor. As somebody who has fought this battle for greater than half a century, I hope it evokes us all to redouble our efforts and make this the yr we lastly finish the failed warfare on medication. We’re in in the course of a revolution and Joe Biden may assist make landmark progress. It could not solely have a profound political influence, it’s completely the proper factor to do.” mentioned Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
“After greater than half a century of preventing for hashish justice, we’re on the cusp of an vital shift, and we wouldn't be right here with out Earl Blumenauer.” mentioned Keith Stroup, founding father of NORML. “We’re extremely grateful to have the chance to bestow this award on him in honor of his braveness and management, in addition to within the hope that many different legislators will comply with the trail he has blazed.”
Since 1973, Congressman Earl Blumenauer has led the nation in hashish reform. In 2012, Blumenauer and then-Consultant Jared Polis based the Marijuana Activity Power. Blumenauer and Polis launched the primary complete legislative plan to legalize, tax and regulate hashish within the federal authorities. In 2017, Blumenauer, together with Representatives Polis, Younger, and Rohrabacher based the Congressional Hashish Caucus which continues to steer Congress in frequent sense hashish reform.
In 2020, Blumenauer's Marijuana Alternative Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) turned the primary and solely complete legalization laws to cross every chamber of america Congress. Lower than two years later, Blumenauer's Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Analysis Growth Act was signed into regulation by President Biden. This proposal to facilitate medical marijuana analysis was the primary federal marijuana stand-alone reform enacted into regulation.
Extra not too long ago, Blumenauer has been the primary congressional champion in demanding that the Biden-Harris Administration fully decriminalize hashish. He pressed the DEA to extend transparency within the planning evaluation course of. He additionally urged the Administration to embrace the political advantages of hashish reform, repeatedly making the case to cupboard secretaries.
Blumenauer continues to drive a powerful bipartisan legislative agenda that features:
· The SAFE Banking Act to permit state-owned enterprises to entry commonplace monetary companies.
· The Small Enterprise Tax Fairness Act to permit state authorized companies to take commonplace tax deductions related to operating a enterprise.
· The Veterans Equal Entry Act to finish the Division of Veterans Affairs' ban on supporting veterans in accessing medical hashish.
After greater than 50 years of management preventing to finish the failed warfare on medication, Blumenauer introduced in October that he wouldn’t search re-election.
