Senator Files '420' Marijuana Bill To Legalize It Federally

For the second time so far this year, marijuana legislation in Congress has been officially designated with the bill number 420. It seems to be an obvious nod to the increasingly mainstream cannabis culture from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-OR) proposal, S.420, would deschedule marijuana by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), establish a federal excise tax on legal sales and create a system of permits for businesses to engage in cannabis commerce.

Marijuana enthusiasts, of course, celebrate their favorite plant on April 20, also known as 4/20.

“S. 420 may get some laughs, but what matters most is that it will get people talking about the serious need to end failed prohibition," Wyden said in an emailed statement.

The new Senate bill, filed on Thursday, is far from the first time that the number 420 has officially been attached to cannabis legislation.

Just last month, another federal lawmaker from Oregon, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), filed a congressional bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol, numbered H.R. 420.

Also last month, Minnesota state lawmakers introduced a marijuana legalization bill designated as HF 420.

And on Capitol Hill, the first time the House voted on measure to block the Department of Justice from interfering with state medical cannabis laws, it was through an amendment considered under 2003's Roll Call 420.

The current legislation, which Blumenauer picked up from former Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), who was sworn in on Tuesday as Colorado's new governor, would also transfer cannabis enforcement authority from Drug Enforcement Administration to a renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Firearms and Explosives.

A similarly renamed Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana Tax and Trade Bureau within the Department of the Treasury would also have oversight authority, as would the Food and Drug Administration. Federal permits would be issued for cultivating, packaging, selling and importing marijuana.

Shipping or transporting marijuana into states that have not legalized it would be prohibited.

Last Congress, Polis's version of the bill garnered 26 cosponsors.

Separately, Blumenauer, a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, recently released a step-by-step plan to federally legalize marijuana in 2019.

His new bill is the third piece of standalone cannabis legislation filed in the new Congress, which began last week.