I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1635 

To establish the National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2013 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. FARR, and Mr. 

MORAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy 

and Commerce, Ways and Means, Financial Services, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the National Commission on Federal Marijuana 

Policy. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Commission 

5 on Federal Marijuana Policy Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) In 1971, Congress created the National 

2 Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, led by 

3 Governor Raymond P. Shafer, known as the Shafer 

4 Commission. 

5 (2) The Shafer Commission undertook a com6 prehensive review of the nature and scope of mari7 juana use, its effects, the relationship of marijuana 

8 use to other behavior, and the efficacy of existing 

9 law. 

10 (3) The final report of the Shafer Commission 

11 recommended that marijuana be decriminalized. 

12 (4) Since the Shafer Commission, the Federal 

13 Government has expanded its ‘‘War on Drugs’’ and 

14 continued to prohibit the use of marijuana. 

15 (5) The District of Columbia and 18 States 

16 have legalized and regulated the use of marijuana 

17 for medicinal purposes. 

18 (6) Since 1973, 15 States have decriminalized 

19 marijuana for personal use, in some cases based on 

20 the Shafer Commission recommendations. 

21 (7) Since 1973, 2 States have legalized and reg22 ulated marijuana for personal use. 

23 (8) Since the Shafer Commission, the Federal 

24 Government has not undertaken a similar review of 

25 its policy toward marijuana. 


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1 (9) The Federal Government must reconcile its 

2 prohibition of marijuana with the laws of the States 

3 where marijuana is legal for some purposes and the 

4 likelihood that more States will follow in this path. 

5 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 

6 There is established a commission to be known as the 

7 National Commission on Federal Marijuana Policy (in this 

8 Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

9 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 

10 The Commission shall undertake a comprehensive re11 view of the state and efficacy of current policies of the 

12 Federal Government toward marijuana in light of the 

13 growing number of States in which marijuana is legal for 

14 medicinal or personal use, including— 

15 (1) how Federal policy should interact with 

16 State laws that make marijuana legal for medicinal 

17 or personal use; 

18 (2) the cost of marijuana prohibition and poten19 tial State and Federal regulation of marijuana, as 

20 well as the potential revenue generated by taxation 

21 of marijuana; 

22 (3) the impact of Federal banking and tax laws 

23 on businesses operating in compliance with State 

24 laws related to marijuana; 


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1 (4) the health impacts, both benefits and risks, 

2 related to marijuana use, and in comparison to alco3 hol and tobacco use; 

4 (5) the domestic and international public safety 

5 effects of marijuana prohibition and the impact that 

6 regulation and control of marijuana has on public 

7 safety; 

8 (6) the impact of marijuana prohibition on 

9 criminal justice, including any racial disparities, and 

10 the collateral consequences of prosecution for mari11 juana possession, including lack of access to hous12 ing, education, and employment; 

13 (7) recommending the appropriate placement of 

14 marijuana in the schedule of the Controlled Sub15 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.); and 

16 (8) the effects of marijuana prohibition or fu17 ture regulation and control of marijuana on inter18 national relationships and treaty obligations. 

19 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP. 

20 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

21 shall be composed of 13 members appointed as follows: 

22 (1) Five individuals appointed by the President, 

23 one of whom the President shall designate as a co24 chair of the Commission. 


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1 (2) Two individuals appointed by the Speaker 

2 of the House of Representatives, one of whom the 

3 Speaker shall designate as a co-chair of the Commis4 sion only if the Speaker is not of the same political 

5 party of the President. 

6 (3) Two individuals appointed by the minority 

7 leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom 

8 the minority leader shall designate as a co-chair of 

9 the Commission only if the minority leader is not of 

10 the same political party of the President. 

11 (4) Two individuals appointed by the majority 

12 leader of the Senate. 

13 (5) Two individuals appointed by the minority 

14 leader of the Senate. 

15 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the Commis16 sion shall be individuals with distinguished reputations for 

17 integrity and nonpartisanship who are nationally recog18 nized for expertise, knowledge, or experience in one or 

19 more of the following areas: 

20 (1) Criminal justice. 

21 (2) Public health. 

22 (3) Social policy. 

23 (4) Economics. 

24 (5) International law. 


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1 (c) DISQUALIFICATION.—An individual may not be 

2 appointed as a member of the Commission if— 

3 (1) the individual possesses a personal financial 

4 interest in the discharge of the duties of the Com5 mission; or 

6 (2) the individual holds public office, serves as 

7 an employee of a political party, is a public official 

8 or candidate for office, or has filed and is running 

9 as a candidate for election for public office. 

10 (d) TERMS.—Members shall be appointed for the life 

11 of the Commission. 

12 (e) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Commission 

13 shall be appointed not later than 45 days after the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act. 

15 (f) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commission 

16 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same 

17 manner in which the original appointment was made. If 

18 vacancies in the Commission occur on any day after 45 

19 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, a quorum 

20 shall consist of a majority of the members of the Commis21 sion. 

22 (g) BASIC PAY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members shall each be enti24 tled to receive the daily equivalent of level V of the 

25 Executive Schedule for each day (including travel 


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1 time) during which they are engaged in the actual 

2 performance of duties vested in the Commission. 

3 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 

4 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

5 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

6 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

7 States Code. 

8 SEC. 6. POWERS. 

9 (a) MEETINGS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet 

11 at the call of either of the co-chairs or a majority 

12 of its members. 

13 (2) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission shall 

14 hold its first meeting on the date that is 60 days 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, or not later 

16 than 30 days after the date on which funds are 

17 made available for the Commission, whichever is 

18 later. 

19 (3) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commis20 sion shall constitute a quorum for purposes of con21 ducting business, except that 2 members of the 

22 Commission shall constitute a quorum for purposes 

23 of receiving testimony. 

24 (4) OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Meetings of the 

25 Commission shall be open to the public. Interested 


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1 persons shall be permitted to appear at meetings 

2 and present oral or written statements on the sub3 ject matter of the meeting. The Commission may ad4 minister oaths or affirmations to any person appear5 ing before it. 

6 (5) NOTICE.—Meetings of the Commission shall 

7 be preceded by timely public notice in the Federal 

8 Register of the time, place, and subject of the meet9 ing. 

10 (b) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for 

11 the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit 

12 and act at times and places, take testimony, and receive 

13 evidence as the Commission considers appropriate. The 

14 Commission shall hold hearings in— 

15 (1) at least 2 States in which marijuana is legal 

16 for medicinal purposes; 

17 (2) at least 2 States in which marijuana is legal 

18 for personal use; and 

19 (3) at least 2 States in which marijuana is not 

20 legal for any purpose. 

21 (c) COMMISSION PANELS.—The Commission may es22 tablish panels composed of less than the full membership 

23 of the Commission, but any findings or determinations of 

24 such panels are not considered findings and determinaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:18 Apr 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1635.IH H1635

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1 tions of the Commission unless approved by the Commis2 sion. 

3 (d) DELEGATION.—Any member, agent, or staff of 

4 the Commission may, if authorized by the co-chairs of the 

5 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au6 thorized to take pursuant to this Act. 

7 (e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

8 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

9 apply to the Commission. 

10 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

11 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission may appoint a Di12 rector to be paid the rate of basic pay for level V of the 

13 Executive Schedule. 

14 (b) STAFF APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

15 With the approval of the Commission, the Director may 

16 appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel as the Di17 rector considers appropriate. Such personnel may be ap18 pointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

19 States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

20 service, and may be paid without regard to the provisions 

21 of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that 

22 title relating to classification and General Schedule pay 

23 rates, except that an individual so appointed may not re24 ceive pay in excess of level V of the Executive Schedule. 


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1 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap2 proval of the Commission, the Director may procure tem3 porary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of 

4 title 5, United States Code. 

5 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

6 the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal 

7 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per8 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car9 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 

10 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta11 tus or privileges of the Federal employee. 

12 (e) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

13 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

14 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 

15 out this Act. Upon the request of a co-chair of the Com16 mission, the head of that department or agency shall fur17 nish that information to the Commission. 

18 (f) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

19 States mails in the same manner and under the same con20 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

21 States. 

22 (g) CONTRACTS.—The Commission is authorized to 

23 enter into contracts with Federal and State agencies, pri24 vate firms, institutions, and individuals for the conduct of 

25 activities necessary to the discharge of its duties and reVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:18 Apr 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1635.IH H1635

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1 sponsibilities. A contract, lease, or other legal agreement 

2 entered into by the Commission may not extend beyond 

3 the date of the termination of the Commission. 

4 (h) GIFTS.—Subject to existing law, the Commission 

5 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv6 ices or property. 

7 (i) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis8 trator of General Services shall provide to the Commis9 sion, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 

10 services necessary for the Commission to carry out its re11 sponsibilities under this Act. These administrative services 

12 may include human resource management, budget, leas13 ing, accounting, and payroll services. 

14 SEC. 8. REPORT. 

15 Not later than 1 year after the date on which funds 

16 first become available to carry out this Act, the Commis17 sion shall submit to the President and Congress, and make 

18 available to the public, a report containing the findings, 

19 conclusions, and recommendations of the Commission. 

20 SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 

21 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after the 

22 date of the submission of the report required under section 

23 8. 


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1 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated $10,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act. 

4 (b) LIMITATION ON USE.—Funds appropriated under 

5 this Act may not be used for international travel. 

Æ 


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