Get ready for a marijuana blitz in Congress

The drumbeat to address marijuana in a similar way to how alcohol is regulated is now resounding in the halls of Congress. Related bills to establish new regulatory and taxation frameworks for marijuana were introduced in the House this week, and that might signal just the beginning of a flurry of activity to come.

While the bills from Colorado Democrat Jared Polis and Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer would appear to stand little chance of passage at the present time, they reflect an effort to leverage growing public sentiment against an enforcement-focused approach to marijuana law.

And to assume that these efforts are merely driven by longtime legalization advocates and their liberal political allies in states that already have adopted or considered legalization measures could be dangerously shortsighted. A Republican House member from California, Dana Rohrabacher, is expected soon to file legislation that would place marijuana policy decisions firmly in the hands of states, with a guarantee of no interference from federal law enforcers.

Polis’s bill would allow states to legalize marijuana and would require growers in states that did so to obtain a federal permit to grow the drug. It also would move federal regulation of marijuana from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to a renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms.

Blumenauer’s bill would establish a tax structure for marijuana producers and other marijuana-related businesses. The Oregon lawmaker has said that both addiction treatment operations and law enforcement agencies could benefit from the revenue raised through taxation.

While many questions remain over how implementation of voter-approved marijuana legalization initiatives in Colorado and Washington will unfold, there is no question that marijuana policy in the face of growing public support for change remains on the front burner.