The Bengal Bite 🐯 | From the Halls of Congress | August 7, 2020
In our previous Capitol Hill update, we at Bengal Capital shared our long-term view that popular pressure on Congress will ultimately lead to a relaxation of the federal prohibition on cannabis.
Headlines of the past week only reinforce our view as the US House took steps to protect state cannabis laws, the FDA issued cannabis research guidelines, and the Senate introduced a bill to decriminalize cannabis.
With a November election on the horizon and the general chaos of 2020, it remains uncertain whether significant cannabis reforms will pass this year, but we see the continuous stream of positive news emerging “From the Halls of Congress” as a massive tailwind for the industry.
The Bengal Capital Team
House votes to protect state marijuana laws from federal interference
A bipartisan amendment introduced by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) to prevent the Department of Justice from using its funds to impede the implementation of cannabis legalization laws was just passed by the House of Representatives. Read more about this bipartisan amendment in the Marijuana Moment here.
Sen. Tina Smith introduces marijuana reform bill focused on health, civil rights
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) filed a new bill this week titled “The Substance Regulation and Safety Act.” This bill would deschedule cannabis and require the US Department of Health and Human Services to develop guidelines for cannabis analogous to those for tobacco. Read more on this bill and its proposed regulations in Fox News 9 here.
Cannabis industry awaits US House vote on MORE Act
Industry sources say that the House of Representatives is poised to pass the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act this fall. This legislation would decriminalize and deschedule marijuana on a federal level by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act. Read more in the Cannabis Business Times.
FDA releases guidelines for cannabis-related research, but CBD will have to wait
The US Food and Drug Administration released preliminary guidance on cannabis-related clinical research, outlining how companies seeking approval of drugs that contain cannabis or its derivatives must follow the traditional drug review and approval process involving clinical trials. The agency is still working on rules for products that contain the cannabis ingredient CBD; the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp but not CBD, and the FDA continues to do its due diligence on CBD while the public awaits guidelines on that compound. Read more on these regulatory changes in MarketWatch here.