Sen. Booker sees hope for marijuana legislation despite Republican House majority

Kevin Dietsch

• Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a proponent of broad marijuana legislation, said that there is a chance it could pass Congress even though Republicans now have a majority in the House.
• Speaking to NJ.com, Booker said, "The urgencies that pushed us towards some kind of partnership are still there, on the business side as well as the restorative justice side."
• During the last Congress, the senator had been pushing for a cannabis bill that would not only include legalization, but include restorative justice reforms and allow marijuana businesses to work with US banks.
• Booker had worked with Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Cannabis Opportunity and Administration Act, but later conceded the broad legislation wasn't likely to go far.
• With Republicans in charge of the House, Booker told NJ.com that passing some kind of cannabis legislation would be "harder but not impossible."
• During a Jan. 25 press conference, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, responding to a reporter's question, said that the Biden administration is not working on permitting cannabis businesses to work with the US financial system as it's an issue for Congress to sort out.
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