[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 991. Mr. MENENDEZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill H.R. 3055, making appropriations for the Departments 
of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal 
year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. REPORT CONCERNING THE EFFECTS OF STATE LEGALIZED 
                   MARIJUANA PROGRAMS.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall--
       (1) to complete a study, not later than 18 months after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, on the effects of State 
     legalized marijuana programs on criminal justice in the 
     respective States; and
       (2) upon the completion of the initial study pursuant to 
     paragraph (1), to prepare or update a report on the results 
     of such study and submit such report to the Congress.
       (b) Study Considerations.--The study pursuant to subsection 
     (a)(1) shall consider the effects of State legalized 
     marijuana programs with respect to criminal justice, 
     including the following:
       (1) The rates of marijuana-related arrests for possession, 
     cultivation, and distribution, and of these arrests, the 
     percentages that involved a secondary charge unrelated to 
     marijuana possession, cultivation, or distribution, 
     including--
       (A) the rates of such arrests at the Federal level, 
     including the number of Federal prisoners so arrested, 
     disaggregated by sex, age, race, and ethnicity of the 
     prisoners; and
       (B) the rates of such arrests at the State level, including 
     the number of State prisoners so arrested, disaggregated by 
     sex, age, race, and ethnicity.
       (2) The rates of arrests and citations at the Federal and 
     State levels related to teenage use of marijuana.
       (3) The rates of arrests at the Federal and State levels 
     for unlawful driving under the influence of a substance, and 
     the rates of such arrests involving marijuana.
       (4) The rates of marijuana-related prosecutions, court 
     filings, and imprisonments.
       (5) The total monetary amounts expended for marijuana-
     related enforcement, arrests, court filings and proceedings, 
     and imprisonment before and after legalization, including 
     Federal expenditures disaggregated according to whether the 
     laws being enforced were Federal or State laws.
       (6) The total number and rate of defendants in Federal 
     criminal prosecutions asserting as a defense that their 
     conduct was in compliance with applicable State law 
     legalizing marijuana usage, and the effects of such 
     assertions.
       (c) Report Contents.--The report pursuant to subsection 
     (a)(2) shall--
       (1) address both State programs that have legalized 
     marijuana for medicinal use and those that have legalized 
     marijuana for adult non-medicinal use and to the extent 
     practicable distinguish between such programs and their 
     effects;
       (2) include a national assessment of average trends across 
     States with such programs in relation to the effects on 
     economy, public health, criminal justice, and employment in 
     the respective States, including with respect to the items 
     listed in subsection (b); and
       (3) describe--
       (A) any barriers that impeded the ability to complete or 
     update aspects of the study required by subsection (a)(1) and 
     how such barriers can be overcome for purposes of future 
     studies; and
       (B) any gaps in the data sought for the study required by 
     subsection (a)(1) and how these gaps can be eliminated or 
     otherwise addressed for purposes of future studies.
       (d) Best Practices for Data Collection by States.--Best 
     practices developed pursuant to this section shall consist of 
     best practices for the collection by States of the 
     information described in the items listed in subsection (b), 
     including best practices for improving--
       (1) data collection;
       (2) analytical capacity;
       (3) research integrity; and
       (4) the comparability of data across States.
                                 ______