Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) says it’s time for Congress to “stop dicking around” and legalize marijuana already—touting his cosponsorship of a recently filed bill to end federal cannabis prohibition.
“I’ve always been very pro-weed,” the senator said in a press release on Tuesday. “In a very libertarian slant: I’m not going to judge anyone for using it to knock the edge off of life. I think your path to wellness should be without judgement or punishment—legal, safe, and regulated.”
“I supported President Biden and President Trump when they took steps on the issue,” Fetterman said, referring to the process of rescheduling marijuana that has advanced during both administrations, and the mass cannabis pardons that Biden issued.
“But it is time for Congress to stop dicking around and make weed legal,” he said. “This bill is a good step forward.”
Last week, Fetterman and other Democrats—led by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Ron Wyden—filed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which would completely remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a process known as “descheduling.”
The far-reaching proposal’s introduction came one day after the conclusion of testimony during a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) hearing on a proposal to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I of the CSA to Schedule III that was started during the Biden administration and has advanced under President Donald Trump.
The new legislation would also create a pathway for people to get their prior criminal sentences for cannabis reduced and expunged while restoring access to housing, jobs and civil rights that they may have lost.
The measure would additionally apply a federal tax on marijuana and use some of the revenue to create a Department of Justice Cannabis Justice Office that would manage a fund to support job training, reentry and legal aid for people from communities harmed by prohibition.
In May, Fetterman gave some across-the-aisle credit to Trump for taking steps to advance cannabis rescheduling and accelerate therapeutic access to psychedelics.
“I think we could all agree [on] everything that President Trump has done about liberalizing marijuana and psychedelics and now too,” Fetterman said in the interview with Reason.
“I really am very, very libertarian in a lot of ways and for those circumstances,” the senator said. “If you check my record, I’ve been for legal weed for forever in that. Politically, that was toxic or certainly not popular. And also psychedelics too.”
“I’ve been very consistent about that and sharing those things,” Fetterman, who has championed cannabis reform since he served as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, said. “So I do hope it continues to liberalize for that, overall.”
Fetterman has criticized Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers for holding up marijuana legalization as neighboring states like Ohio move forward with the policy change.
Last year, the senator’s campaign launched a petition supporting federal marijuana legalization.
He previously criticized President Joe Biden for excluding military-level cannabis policy violations from his mass marijuana pardons.
Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.
