{"id":2538,"date":"2021-11-22T04:09:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T04:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=185513"},"modified":"2021-11-22T04:09:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T04:09:25","slug":"meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2538","title":{"rendered":"Meet Congress\u2019 new Republican cannabis caucus"},"content":{"rendered":"
Meet Congress’ new Republican cannabis caucus – Leafly<\/title> <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.5 (Yoast SEO v17.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ --> <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --> <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) --> <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\"> <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\"> <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) --> <title>Leafly<\/title> <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title> <title>Loading\u2026<\/title> <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You’re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>Last week\u2019s introduction of a new Republican-led <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/states-reform-act-republican-marijuana-legalization-bill-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">marijuana legalization bill<\/a> wasn\u2019t merely a conservative response to existing Democratic proposals. It also acted as a coming-out party for the GOP\u2019s new generation of legalization advocates. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>The States Reform Act represents a coming-out party for a new generation of Republican legalization advocates.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Rep. Nancy Mace has garnered most of the media attention for her work last week, and rightly so. The Congress member from Charleston deserves credit for standing up for an issue that far too many of her fellow Republicans\u2014even in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/natsfert\/status\/1460358969403265031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1460358969403265031%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.leafly.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fstates-reform-act-republican-marijuana-legalization-bill-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">her own state party<\/a>\u2014oppose or ignore. <\/p>\n<p>Mace\u2019s bill, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/states-reform-act-republican-marijuana-legalization-bill-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">States Reform Act <\/a>(HR 5977), removes cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances, allows states to regulate it as they please, establishes a 3% federal tax, and focuses the tax revenue on law enforcement instead of equity programs. <\/p>\n<p>It also performs a critically important function: Mace\u2019s proposed Act provides cover for a new generation of elected Republicans who are ready to end prohibition. That\u2019s huge. Up until now, Democratic proposals have dominated the cannabis conversation in Congress. The States Reform Act provides a Republican-led vehicle that allows GOP members to publicly back the legalization movement. <\/p>\n<p>Mace\u2019s bill opened with four Republican co-sponsors. They are: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) <\/li>\n<li>Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI)<\/li>\n<li>Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)<\/li>\n<li>Rep. Don Young (R-AK) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Two of them\u2014Alaska Rep. Don Young and California Rep. Tom McClintock\u2014has openly supported legalization for years. The others are relative newcomers to the cause, have shown an ability to work with Democrats, and represent the mainstream of the post-Trump GOP. <\/p>\n<p>Together they form a new and unofficial Republican cannabis caucus. They\u2019re an intriguing bunch. <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/liberty-jobs-freedom-how-cannabis-became-a-conservative-issue\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Liberty, Jobs, and Freedom: How Cannabis Became a Conservative Issue<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-meet-nancy-mace-head-of-the-caucus\">Meet Nancy Mace, head of the caucus<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"representative-nancy-mace-photo\" class=\"wp-image-185886 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-1.jpg,compress&w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-1.jpg,compress&w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-1.jpg,compress&w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-1.jpg,compress&w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) speaks during a news conference about a cannabis reform bill she introduced, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nancy Mace is something <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/south-carolinas-nancy-mace-from-waffle-house-to-us-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">different<\/a>: a former Waffle House waitress who became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel. Breaking open The Citadel\u2014the formerly all-male South Carolina military academy that\u2019s long been one of America\u2019s most conservative boys\u2019 clubs\u2014proved her grit, and after a brief career in business consulting she\u2019s now making waves in Congress. <\/p>\n<p>Mace is young and very Trump-aligned. But she breaks with the Trump party line when it comes to environmental conservation, where she has a record that\u2019s more friendly to the Sierra Club than to Exxon. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cvsc.org\/legislators\/mace-nancy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conservation Voters of South Carolina<\/a> gave Mace a 100% lifetime rating, in part for standing against oil drilling off the shores of South Carolina. <\/p>\n<p>At the same time, South Carolina\u2019s corporate-backed Club for Growth campaigned heavily for Mace and gave her its 2019 Taxpayer Hero Award. That low-tax philosophy is reflected in Mace\u2019s legalization bill, which sets the federal cannabis tax rate at 3%, far lower than the 10% to 25% proposed by Democrats. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-brian-mast-florida-veteran-with-an-independent-streak\">Brian Mast: Florida veteran with an independent streak<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"742\" alt=\"Congressman-brian-mast\" class=\"wp-image-185892 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-2.jpg,compress&w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-2.jpg,compress&w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-2.jpg,compress&w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-2.jpg,compress&w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>In this 2016 photo, then Rep.-elect Brian Mast (R-FL),. departs after newly-elected House members gathered for a freshman class photo on the Capitol steps. Mast is a rising Republican in a key Florida district. (AP Photo\/Andrew Harnik)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Brian Mast represents a prime Florida district, encompassing Palm Beach County and Port St. Lucie. That\u2019s powerful Republican territory. He too is a rising new-generation GOP politician, a military veteran who lost both legs fighting in Afghanistan. <\/p>\n<p>Mast has also been able to carve out a niche position counter to the party line. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollcall.com\/2018\/04\/26\/gop-rep-brian-mast-gets-pro-gun-primary-challenger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">broke with the GOP\u2019s NRA-led party line<\/a> on gun control in 2018, following the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, FL, which is not far from his home district. <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/9-marijuana-legalization-arguments\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Top 9 arguments in support of marijuana legalization and regulation<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-peter-meijer-michigan-moderate-who-defends-democracy\">Peter Meijer: Michigan moderate who defends democracy<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"photo-of-peter-meijer-and-jill-biden\" class=\"wp-image-185895 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-3.jpg,compress&w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-3.jpg,compress&w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-3.jpg,compress&w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-3.jpg,compress&w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Able to reach across the aisle: Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) greets First Lady Jill Biden as she arrives at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., for an event in May 2021. Meijer represents a politically moderate district in a legal adult-use state. (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Peter Meijer reps the good folks in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan, a classic Main Street Republican town whose favorite son, President Gerald Ford, embodied moderate Republican values that seem radically quaint by today\u2019s standards. <\/p>\n<p>Meijer has shown himself to be willing to work across party lines (see photo above), and is ready to defend democracy even when the rest of the GOP refuses. Meijer was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. As a result, he recently attracted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox17online.com\/news\/politics\/trump-endorses-primary-challenger-to-gop-rep-meijer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump-backed challenger<\/a> personally endorsed by the former president.<\/p>\n<p>Meijer was born into the family that founded the Meijer supercenter chain, one of the dominant retailers in the Upper Midwest. He successfully <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/news\/grand-rapids\/2019\/07\/west-michigan-needs-a-new-voice-in-congress-says-amash-challenger-peter-meijer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">challenged<\/a> Republican Rep. Justin Amash, who lost his seat after losing favor with President Trump by calling for Trump\u2019s impeachment. <\/p>\n<p>As it happens, Amash had been one of the few Republican members of Congress to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marijuanamoment.net\/congressman-files-marijuana-bill-after-leaving-republican-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">call for the federal legalization<\/a> of cannabis. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-tom-mcclintock-californian-led-bipartisan-legalization-efforts\">Tom McClintock: Californian led bipartisan legalization efforts <\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"tom-mcclintock-congress-member-portrait\" class=\"wp-image-185900 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-4.jpg,compress&w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-4.jpg,compress&w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-4.jpg,compress&w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-4.jpg,compress&w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) represents a moderate district that includes Sacramento, capital of the state that leads the nation in legal cannabis production and sales. (Alex Edelman\/Pool via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tom McClintock is a six-term Congressman whose California district encompasses the eastern Sacramento suburbs and a large swath of the Sierra Nevada region. He\u2019s been one of the legalization movement\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/norml.org\/blog\/tag\/rep-tom-mcclintock\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">strongest supporters<\/a> for a number of years. <\/p>\n<p>In 2016, McClintock supported Proposition 64, the initiative that legalized cannabis use for all adults. In 2017 and 2018, he <a href=\"https:\/\/norml.org\/blog\/2018\/01\/11\/alert-effort-to-protect-lawful-marijuana-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">partnered<\/a> with Democratic Rep. Jared Polis to defend medical patients and adults in legal states from federal arrest and prosecution. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-don-young-the-alaskan-old-timer\">Don Young, the Alaskan old-timer<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"720\" alt=\"photo-of-alaska-congressman-don-young\" class=\"wp-image-185913 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-5.jpg,compress&w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-5.jpg,compress&w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-5.jpg,compress&w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus-5.jpg,compress&w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>U.S. Rep. Don Young, a longtime legalization advocate, is the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. House. (AP Photo\/Mark Thiessen, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Young is a holdover from a previous generation of Republican legalization advocates. That was a group of hardened ol\u2019 cusses like Young, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=37mZfNXsf5s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ancient bear hunter<\/a> from Fort Yukon, and former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/dana-rohrabachers-last-stand-california-conservatives-fate-could-hinge-on-cannabis-vote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rep. Dana Rohrabacher<\/a>, the Reagan-era conservative who reveled in his role as a political provocateur. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am a passionate supporter of a states\u2019 rights approach to cannabis,\u201d Young said in a media release last week. \u201cFor too long, the federal government has stood in the way of states that have acted to set their own cannabis policies. It is long past time to update our cannabis laws for the 21st Century. My state legalized adult-use cannabis in 2014, and as Alaska\u2019s sole representative in the House and Co-Chair of the Cannabis Caucus, I am proud to help introduce the States Reform Act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Young is the longest-serving Republican in the House of Representatives. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-new-kind-of-republican-legalization-bill\">A new kind of Republican legalization bill<\/h2>\n<p>Mace\u2019s States Reform Act is seen as a serious effort, partly because the bill contains measures similar to those in the MORE Act and Sen. Chuck Schumer\u2019s legalization proposal, while offering interesting twists like the lower federal tax rate. Timing also matters: The Republican-led measure is a way to open negotiations about what some GOP members would find acceptable in a merged omnibus legalization bill, at a time when a legalization bill (the MORE Act) actually passed the House just a few months ago. <\/p>\n<p>Previous Republican efforts to legalize have largely been limited to lonely, abandoned, one-off bills. The last one we saw was the <a href=\"https:\/\/mjbizdaily.com\/two-us-house-republicans-pitch-federal-marijuana-legalization-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Common Sense Cannabis Reform Act<\/a> co-sponsored by Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) and Rep. Don Young. It went nowhere. (Rep. Justin Amash filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marijuanamoment.net\/congressman-files-marijuana-bill-after-leaving-republican-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legalization bill <\/a>on his way out the door in 2019, but he had already renounced his Republican affiliation and filed the bill as an Independent.) <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear why Rep. Joyce, who still represents Ohio\u2019s 14th District (the Cleveland suburbs and parts east), hasn\u2019t yet signed on to Mace\u2019s new bill. As a bipartisan-friendly Republican, Joyce would seem to fit right in with this new generation of GOP legalization advocates. <\/p>\n<p>Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was the <a href=\"https:\/\/floridapolitics.com\/archives\/386822-drugs-have-won-matt-gaetz-defends-federal-pot-decriminalization-act-as-sole-republican-co-sponsor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sole Republican co-sponsor<\/a> of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which successfully passed the House in late 2020. But since then Gaetz has become the target of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/03\/30\/us\/politics\/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an investigation into possible sex trafficking<\/a>, and no serious bill sponsor is seeking his endorsement or sign-on, for obvious reasons. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-can-schumer-or-biden-move-this-forward\">Can Schumer or Biden move this forward?<\/h2>\n<p>Now that President Biden has signed the $1 trillion dollar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/11\/15\/1055841358\/biden-signs-1t-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-into-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bipartisan infrastructure package<\/a> into law, there may be space to consider a legalization proposal that has enough Democratic and Republican votes to move forward in the Senate. <\/p>\n<p>Biden loves to talk about bipartisan solutions to America\u2019s problems. Here\u2019s where the rubber hits the road. This new crew of Republicans are stepping out and supporting national cannabis legalization. They\u2019re party members who have proven that they can buck the existing party line on certain issues. They are the new members of the de facto Republican cannabis caucus. They\u2019re not here to score points on <em>Tucker Carlson Tonight<\/em>. They\u2019re here to legalize. <\/p>\n<p>Congressional Democrats, and Democrat-in-Chief Biden, should get ready to work with them. <\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus.jpg\" alt=\"Bruce Barcott's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Bruce Barcott<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Leafly Senior Editor Bruce Barcott oversees news, investigations, and feature projects. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/bruce-barcott\">View Bruce Barcott’s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly’s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --> <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-11-21 20:09:40 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet Congress’ new Republican cannabis caucus – Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You’re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Last week\u2019s introduction of a new Republican-led marijuana legalization bill wasn\u2019t merely a conservative response to existing Democratic proposals. It also acted as a coming-out party for the GOP\u2019s new generation of legalization advocates. The States Reform Act represents a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/meet-congress-new-republican-cannabis-caucus.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}