[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 138 (Thursday, November 13, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H7943-H7944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, there were many close elections across 
America last week, but there was one clear winner: ending our failed 
prohibition on marijuana and instead legalizing, regulating, and taxing 
adult use.
  Alaska and the District of Columbia voters joined Colorado and 
Washington from 2 years earlier with strong votes to legalize. Nowhere 
was that more emphatic than in my home State of Oregon. Marijuana 
legislation passed in Oregon by a greater margin than it did in 
Washington and Colorado. It got more votes than United States Senator 
Jeff Merkley, who was overwhelmingly reelected. And this was in a low-
turnout, non-Presidential year, which experts predicted would depress 
the ``yes'' vote.
  In a few minutes, I will be joined in a press conference with Eleanor 
Holmes Norton, whose constituents resoundingly approved legalization, 
and will make the case that Congress needs to stay out of the way of 
its implementation. Jared Polis, who has been my partner on efforts at 
modernizing and reforming marijuana laws, will give a snapshot on the 
progress in Colorado 2 years after legalization. Congressman Dana 
Rohrabacher from southern California, the first State to legalize 
medical marijuana 18 years ago, has been a tireless champion of the 
Federal Government not interfering with decisions of local voters to 
modernize and reform local marijuana laws. He has helped dozens of his 
Republican colleagues understand and support marijuana and hemp reform.
  Perhaps just as important as those votes that passed was one that 
failed: the vote to legalize medical marijuana that failed in Florida. 
But it should be noted that it garnered 57 percent of statewide voters, 
again, in a low-turnout, non-Presidential election where many of the 
people, polls show, who

[[Page H7944]]

were supporters did not bother to vote. It got more votes than any 
statewide candidate in Florida on the ballot this year. Because it was 
a constitutional amendment that requires a 60 percent voter approval 
level, it was not approved at this time. But there is no question that 
medical marijuana is in the immediate future for Floridians. If it were 
back on the ballot in a Presidential year, it would exceed the 60 
percent threshold.
  In the meantime, we are going to work hard to implement the Oregon 
law and take advantage of the next 2 years to learn from the experience 
of others and refine our approach. We will raise new revenues to help 
education, addiction treatment, and law enforcement. And most 
important, we have already stopped prosecuting people for items that 
will be legal under the law, and we will be better able to protect our 
kids than the current vast underground black market.
  Now Congress needs to do its part. We need to act now in Congress to 
solve two serious problems, not just for those States that have 
legalized adult use but the 23 States and counting that have legalized 
medical marijuana.
  A narrow reading of Federal banking regulations requires that these 
perfectly legal marijuana businesses be on an all-cash basis. 
Restricting them from having bank accounts is absolutely insane, 
unfair, and unwise if you care about money laundering, tax evasion, or 
theft.
  Additionally, I have legislation that will permit legal marijuana 
businesses to be able to deduct their business expenses from their 
income tax. Because of the quirk in the law--the 280E provision--small 
and emerging businesses face punitive Federal taxation that is unfair, 
unwise, and certainly unjustified. Regardless of how people feel about 
legalizing marijuana, these businesses are here--and here to stay.
  Passing H.R. 2240 and H.R. 2652 will help treat this emerging sector 
of the economy fairly and further protect the public. I am hopeful that 
as the reality of these elections and future changes set in, we will be 
able to do a better job of permitting them to operate and allow this 
rapidly emerging area of commerce to serve the public and thrive.

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