Her legislation follows a bill from Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act, which hasn’t gained traction.
This would be a lighter touch than the more rigorous oversight called for in Schumer’s bill, which critics said would make pot akin to pharmaceutical drugs or tobacco by putting the U.S.
“It would largely delegate regulatory powers to the existing state governments,” said Brady Cobb, a board member of Captor Capital, an Irvine, California-based operator of dispensaries, who saw the draft.
Detractors have said the higher tax would make legal cannabis too expensive to compete with products sold on the illicit market and cause problems like those seen in California.
“The FDA would have had the ability to come in and slow things down,” said Cobb, who said he sees Mace’s legislation as a tighter bill.
The other major difference with Schumer’s proposal is that Mace’s is lighter on so-called social-equity provisions, which are meant to repair harm from the war on drugs by promoting minority participation.
Marijuana stocks, which had been beaten down this year largely due to the industry’s stalled political prospects, have rallied all week in anticipation of Mace’s legislation.