I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2843 

To decriminalize marijuana, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 20, 2019 

Mr. JEFFRIES (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 

NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. COHEN, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 

Mr. RUSH, Mr. POCAN, Ms. GABBARD, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. TRONE, 

Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CRIST, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. 

CORREA, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SOTO, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. TED LIEU of 

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

the Judiciary, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Small Business, 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 decriminalize marijuana, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Marijuana Freedom 

5 and Opportunity Act’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 2843 IH

1 SEC. 2. DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA. 

2 (a) MARIHUANA REMOVED FROM SCHEDULE OF

3 CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.—Subsection (c) of schedule 

4 I of section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

5 U.S.C. 812) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘marihuana’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘tetrahydrocannabinols’’. 

8 (b) REMOVAL OF PROHIBITION ON IMPORT AND EX9 PORT.—Section 1010(b) of the Controlled Substances Im10 port and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

13 after the semicolon; 

14 (B) by striking subparagraph (G); and 

15 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as 

16 subparagraph (G); 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

19 after the semicolon; 

20 (B) by striking subparagraph (G); and 

21 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as 

22 subparagraph (G); 

23 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘paragraphs 

24 (1), (2), and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1) and 

25 (2)’’; 

26 (4) by striking paragraph (4); and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 2843 IH

1 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and 

2 (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONTROLLED

4 SUBSTANCES ACT.—The Controlled Substances Act (21 

5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 102(44) (21 U.S.C. 802(44)), by 

7 striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 

8 (2) in section 401(b) (21 U.S.C. 841(b))— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

11 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 

12 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

13 (II) by striking (vii); and 

14 (III) by redesignating clause 

15 (viii) as clause (vii); 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

17 (I) by striking clause (vii); and 

18 (II) by redesignating clause (viii) 

19 as clause (vii); 

20 (iii) in subparagraph (C), in the first 

21 sentence, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A), 

22 (B), and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara23 graphs (A) and (B)’’; 

24 (iv) by striking subparagraph (D); 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 2843 IH

1 (v) by redesignating subparagraph (E) 

2 as subparagraph (D); and 

3 (vi) in subparagraph (D)(i), as so re4 designated, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (C) 

5 and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

6 (C)’’; 

7 (B) by striking paragraph (4); and 

8 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 

9 and (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec10 tively; 

11 (3) in section 402(c)(2)(B) (21 U.S.C. 

12 842(c)(2)(B)), by striking ‘‘, marihuana,’’; 

13 (4) in section 403(d)(1) (21 U.S.C. 843(d)(1)), 

14 by striking ‘‘, marihuana,’’; 

15 (5) in section 418(a) (21 U.S.C. 859(a)), by 

16 striking the last sentence; 

17 (6) in section 419(a) (21 U.S.C. 860(a)), by 

18 striking the last sentence; 

19 (7) in section 422(d) (21 U.S.C. 863(d))— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

21 by striking ‘‘marijuana,’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘, such 

23 as a marihuana cigarette,’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 2843 IH

1 (8) in section 516(d) (21 U.S.C. 886(d)), by 

2 striking ‘‘section 401(b)(6)’’ each place the term ap3 pears and inserting ‘‘section 401(b)(5)’’. 

4 (d) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM DRUG CONTROL

6 ACT OF 1986.—The National Forest System Drug 

7 Control Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 559b et seq.) is 

8 amended— 

9 (A) in section 15002(a) (16 U.S.C. 

10 559b(a)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 

11 (B) in section 15003(2) (16 U.S.C. 

12 559c(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 

13 and 

14 (C) in section 15004(2) (16 U.S.C. 

15 559d(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’. 

16 (2) INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS.—Sec17 tion 2516 of title 18, United States Code, is amend18 ed— 

19 (A) in subsection (1)(e), by striking ‘‘mari20 huana,’’; and 

21 (B) in subsection (2) by striking ‘‘mari22 huana,’’. 

23 SEC. 3. LEVEL THE ECONOMIC PLAYING FIELD. 

24 (a) ESTIMATE.—On an annual basis, the Secretary 

25 of the Treasury shall make a reasonable estimate of total 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 2843 IH

1 tax revenue generated by the marijuana industry for the 

2 previous 12-month period. 

3 (b) TRANSFER.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

4 transfer from the general fund of the Treasury to the trust 

5 fund established under subsection (c) the greater of— 

6 (1) an amount equal to 10 percent of the 

7 amount estimated under subsection (a); and 

8 (2) $10,000,000. 

9 (c) TRUST FUND.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

11 Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be 

12 known as the Marijuana Opportunity Trust Fund, 

13 which shall consist of amounts transferred under 

14 subsection (b). 

15 (2) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts in the trust 

16 fund established under paragraph (1) shall be made 

17 available to the Administrator of the Small Business 

18 Administration to provide loans under section 7(m) 

19 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)) to as20 sist— 

21 (A) small business concerns owned and 

22 controlled by women, as defined in section 3 of 

23 that Act (15 U.S.C. 632), that operate in the 

24 marijuana industry; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 2843 IH

1 (B) small business concerns owned and 

2 controlled by socially and economically dis3 advantaged individuals, as defined in section 

4 8(d)(3)(C) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 

5 637(d)(3)(C)), that operate in the marijuana 

6 industry. 

7 SEC. 4. HIGHWAY SAFETY RESEARCH. 

8 (a) STUDY; DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator of 

9 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (re10 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall— 

11 (1) carry out a study of the impact of driving 

12 under the influence of tetrahydrocannabinol on high13 way safety; and 

14 (2) develop enhanced strategies and procedures 

15 to reliably determine the impairment of a driver 

16 under the influence of tetrahydrocannabinol. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

19 carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

20 2020 through 2024. 

21 SEC. 5. PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

23 Human Services, in consultation with the Director of the 

24 National Institutes of Health and the Commissioner of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 2843 IH

1 Food and Drugs, shall conduct research on the impacts 

2 of marijuana, including— 

3 (1) effects of tetrahydrocannabinol on the 

4 human brain; 

5 (2) efficacy of medicinal marijuana as a treat6 ment for specific diseases and conditions; and 

7 (3) identification of additional medical benefits 

8 and uses of cannabis. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

11 Health and Human Services, $100,000,000 for each of fis12 cal years 2020 through 2024, for purposes of carrying out 

13 the activities described in subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 6. PROTECT KIDS. 

15 The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of 

16 the Department of the Treasury shall promulgate regula17 tions that— 

18 (1) require restrictions on the advertising and 

19 promotion of products related to marijuana, if the 

20 Secretary determines that such regulation would be 

21 appropriate for the protection of the public health, 

22 taking into account— 

23 (A) the risks and benefits to the popu24 lation of individuals age 18 and under, includ25 ing users and nonusers of marijuana products; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 2843 IH

1 (B) the increased or decreased likelihood 

2 that existing users of marijuana products who 

3 are age 18 and under will stop using such prod4 ucts; and 

5 (C) the increased or decreased likelihood 

6 that those age 18 and under who do not use 

7 marijuana products will start using such prod8 ucts; and 

9 (2) impose restrictions on the advertising and 

10 promotion of products related to marijuana con11 sistent with and to the full extent permitted by the 

12 First Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

13 States. 

14 SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF MARIJUANA CON15 VICTIONS. 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Attor17 ney General to award grants to States and units of local 

18 government for the purpose of administering, expanding, 

19 or developing expungement or sealing programs for convic20 tions of possession of marijuana $20,000,000 for each of 

21 fiscal years 2020 through 2024 with not less than 50 per22 cent of those funds being directed to cover the cost of pub23 lic defenders or legal aid providers. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 2843 IH

1 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this 

3 Act, may be construed to modify the authority of the Fed4 eral Government to prevent marijuana trafficking from 

5 States that have legalized marijuana to those that have 

6 not. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS