HRES926-119

2. Best practices and steps to advance equity in cannabis policy; address disparities in the cannabis marketplace participation; address, reverse, and repair certain effects of the war on drugs The House of Representatives encourages States and localities to adopt best practices and take bold steps referred to in subsection (b) to advance equity in cannabis policy and address disparities in the cannabis marketplace participation and to address, reverse, and repair the most egregious effects of the War on Drugs on communities of color, in particular to those who now hold criminal records for a substance that is now legal and regulated. The practices and steps referred to in this subsection include— eliminating State and local criminal penalties for the possession and use of cannabis and ensuring that public benefits cannot be denied to persons due to a cannabis conviction; establishing licensing and application fees that are reasonable to cover only the costs of program implementation and necessary regulations; creating a system where licensing is to be obtained at the city or county level and should be based on regulations determined by the local jurisdiction that meet the State’s minimum requirements, which allows the community to determine the type and number of businesses, avoids arbitrary caps on licenses, and results in an industry more representative of the local market; in States where license caps are completely unavoidable, establishing local oversight and control of cannabis licenses by allowing local cities and municipalities to prioritize licenses for local citizens and residents, especially individuals most impacted by the War on Drugs, by taking into account and prioritizing— long-term residency within the State or locality; individuals whose income is less than 80 percent of the median household income within a county; individuals who have been formerly incarcerated; individuals with prior drug law violations; individuals living within a jurisdiction that is heavily policed; and policies and regulations that truly prevent large companies and wealthy investors from obtaining significant revenue generated by license holders who have been prioritized for ownership for the reasons described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) above and for equity-based prioritizations determined by the State; adopting laws and implementing regulations that will allow small cultivators to thrive in the legal market; creating more equitable licensing by— eliminating broad felony restrictions for licensing; focusing restrictions on entering the market to those, determined on a case-by-case basis for both licensees and employees, with criminal convictions that are relevant to the owning and operating of a business; and prohibiting previous cannabis convictions from consideration as justification for a denial of a license; creating an automatic process, at no cost for the individual, for the expungement or sealing of criminal records for cannabis offenses that is inclusive of individuals currently on parole or under any probationary agreement, for cannabis offenses, and provides notification and certification of the expungement or sealing; establishing a process for resentencing persons serving sentences for cannabis convictions and redesignating of penalties for persons previously convicted of cannabis-related crimes for which the penalties have been reduced or removed; eliminating suspicion-less drug testing for non safety-sensitive employment positions; taking a proactive approach to consider and adopt laws and policies regarding interstate commerce and their potential impact on disparities in the cannabis marketplace; adopting policies that promote fair labor standards and practices within the cannabis industry; eliminating punishment or other penalization for persons currently under parole, probation, or other State supervision, or released on bail awaiting trial, for conduct otherwise allowed under State cannabis laws, and allowing the medical use of cannabis by incarcerated person if recommended by their physician; setting aside a percentage of the tax revenue from cannabis sales to be reinvested in communities that have been most affected by cannabis arrests and the drug war, which most frequently have been communities of color, including programs for job training, reentry services, expungement expenses, public libraries, community centers, programs and opportunities dedicated to youth, and health education programs; using a percentage of tax revenue to establish a special fund to provide small business investments to support people of color entering into the legal cannabis industry; establishing cannabis regulatory and oversight bodies and commissions that reflect the racial, ethnic, economic, and gender makeup of the surrounding community; creating employment and subcontracting requirements for cannabis licensees in order to use the ancillary business activity generated by the cannabis industry to employ people of color; including provisions designating spaces for public consumption, either by the licensing of social entities or by creating these spaces; and establishing a robust education campaign to inform the public on relevant legal and public health information including consumer education and developing public education campaigns to prevent youth access and cannabis-impaired driving.