 Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York, initiated a process to pass a House approved cannabis research bill on Thursday of this week.
The bipartisan “Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act” was ‘hotlined’, which means that both the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader both agree in advance to advance the measure without a roll call vote. That gives other Senate members a limited amount of time for objections before moving ahead with a request for unanimous consent for approval on the floor. But despite the bipartisan support, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas objected, and delayed everything further. If there had been no objections, the bill would have moved through the Senate and gone to the President for his approval or veto, where it was expected he would approve it. That would mark the first time in history that a standalone cannabis reform measure would be enacted into law. The Texas Republican Senator Cornyn did not provide any reasons for his objection. In the past he has advocated for this exact type of reform, including while he served as co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. He has several times spoke about and emphasized the need for studies, and he has criticized policies that inhibit research. The goal of the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act that he has delayed by objecting to would help achieve those study objectives. Marijuana Moment cited a source on Capitol Hill who privately said that Cornyn plans to block every bill that is taken up under unanimous consent in the Senate for his own personal vindictiveness. The source said this is because he is frustrated that the opposite chamber has not advanced more of his own legislation that has been sent over. So if you live in Texas, keep the name of Republican Senator John Cornyn in mind, and the next time he’s up for re-election, perhaps you, too can ‘object’. Comments are closed.
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