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U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenaur, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, gave the keynote at the New York City Bar Association Cannabis Law Conference.
Cannabis Wire sat down with Blumenauer to talk about what’s top of mind in his 194 days left in Congress (he mentioned it more than once), and beyond.
This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Cannabis Wire: There’s a lot of conversation about Congress’ intent with the 2018 Farm Bill. In your view, did Sen. Mitch McConnell mean to legalize the types of products on the market today?
Bluemenauer: I think it was a concession to reality, that there’s a real opportunity to legalize hemp, allow its cultivation, that it is not something that we should be concerned about. Instead, it’s an economic opportunity.
Cannabis Wire: How would you characterize the House discussions about the Miller Amendment, which would ban intoxicating hemp products?
Bluemenauer: Minimal.
It’s not been heated public debate. It’s more a matter of routine, it slipped into legislation that didn’t get a lot of the spotlight. I think it continues to be more or less below the radar, particularly considering how significant it can be.
Cannabis Wire: In terms of cannabis, how would a continued Biden presidency affect policy, versus another Trump presidency?
Blumenauer: We have no idea what Donald Trump believes or what he’d do. I mean, he’s so mercurial. He’s been all over the map on all sorts of things. He’s been largely silent about cannabis reform. He got trapped on the record in Colorado in 2016 saying, ‘well, let the states do it.’ But it’s not an issue that animates him or his base. Which I think is a mistake because this is an area that has a fair amount of popular support and is stupid not to embrace it.
I really do appreciate Joe Biden’s adjustment of his historic stance, what he’s done with the pardons, his call for the rescheduling. And if he’d move forward, I think it would have a really dramatic impact on making sure that everything else is reset.
Cannabis Wire: This year, what’s the single biggest hurdle to the advancement of cannabis reform?
Blumenauer: The issue right now is getting some time on the floor of the Senate to have a couple of votes. The legislation for SAFE Banking is teed up in the Banking Committee. If they can schedule it for floor time, it will pass overwhelmingly two thirds, 70 votes. And it’s a whip count you can’t deny. I mean, people have to put their name on the line where they actually are. And I think people are going to be surprised by how much support there is. And I think that’ll make it easier to move on SAFE Banking, when they see how much support is there for banking, how much support is there in terms of being able to normalize this.
I truly believe it’s going to be like marriage equality. People will wonder what the issues are and why would we ever deny them banking services? Why shouldn’t they deduct their business expenses? I think those elements fall in place pretty quickly.
Cannabis Wire: Some folks join the industry after they retire from Congress. Are we going to see you join a cannabis company?
Blumenauer: I am looking forward to 194 days from now to being a civilian. And I’m going to continue working on the things I care about, food policy, bicycles, and cannabis. After having worked with this for over 50 years, I plan on continuing my advocacy, being strategic, helping. This for me is a legacy issue and one of which I’m quite proud.
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