The marijuana industry is thrilled with U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper’s sponsorship of a bill to form a federal task force to regulate, and eventually tax marijuana should Congress ever agree to legalize recreational use.
Interestingly, Hickenlooper didn’t even get around to introducing the bill until Dec. 1, with just three weeks left in the legislative calendar before Congress adjourns the two-year session sine die and the newly elected guys take over.
That’s right, Hickenlooper wasted two years and then dropped the bill at the last minute.
From Marijuana Moment:
The timing of the introduction is meant to roughly coincide with the 10-year anniversary of his home state of Colorado’s vote to legalize adult-use cannabis.
He previewed the legislation at an event in October marking that anniversary and formally announced his intent to file it last month.
Hilarious. The timing was meant to coincide with the anniversary, but never happened until months later and all too late to have zero impact. Bravo.
It sounds like the Hickenlooper gang were legislating on the fly to cover for their asses on the anniversary, because …
From the article:
Hancock and Hickenlooper, who at the time was Colorado’s governor, unsuccessfully attempted to convince voters to oppose Amendment 64 at the ballot in 2012. But after the reform was approved and implemented, they recognized that the sky did not fall in Colorado and they’ve each touted the benefits of legalization as it relates to the economy, racial justice and more.
Hickenlooper said even after the vote (to legalize) that the policy was “reckless,” and he made an infamous quip on election night admonishing cannabis consumer not to “break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly.”
And yet, Hickenlooper still wasted two years before lifting a finger to advance his proposal until it was far too late to have any real impact — except as a prop for the 10-year anniversary event.