RESPECT Resolution

This resolution, titled the "Realizing Equitable & Sustainable Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades Resolution" or the "RESPECT Resolution," urges States and localities to take significant steps to advance equity within cannabis policy and address disparities in the legal cannabis marketplace. It aims to address, reverse, and repair the egregious effects of the War on Drugs on communities of color, especially for those with criminal records related to cannabis. Key best practices encouraged for States and localities include eliminating State and local criminal penalties for cannabis possession and use, ensuring public benefits are not denied due to cannabis convictions, and establishing reasonable licensing fees. The resolution advocates for local control over licensing, prioritizing individuals most impacted by the War on Drugs, such as long-term residents, low-income individuals, and those with prior drug law violations or incarceration. It also seeks to support small cultivators, eliminate broad felony restrictions for licensing, and create automatic, cost-free expungement or sealing of cannabis criminal records. Furthermore, the resolution calls for resentencing individuals serving sentences for cannabis convictions and redesignating penalties for past cannabis-related crimes. It encourages reinvesting a percentage of cannabis tax revenue into communities most affected by cannabis arrests and the drug war, funding programs like job training, reentry services, and expungement expenses. Another portion of tax revenue should establish a special fund to provide small business investments for people of color entering the legal cannabis industry. Finally, the resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should direct the U.S. Mission to the United Nations to advocate for the descheduling of cannabis from international drug control treaties. This action would acknowledge and study the impacts of controlling cannabis through international treaties and treat cannabis as a legal commodity, aligning with global trends in cannabis reform.