IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 163 

Urging action to increase equity within the legal cannabis marketplace. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. 

OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. KHANNA, and Ms. PRESSLEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Education and Labor, 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 

RESOLUTION 

Urging action to increase equity within the legal cannabis 

marketplace. 

Whereas the communities that have been most harmed by 

cannabis prohibition are benefiting the least from the 

legal marijuana marketplace; 

Whereas a legacy of racial and ethnic injustices, compounded 

by the disproportionate collateral consequences of 80 

years of cannabis prohibition enforcement, now limits 

participation in the industry; 

Whereas 33 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

and Guam have adopted laws allowing legal access to 

cannabis, and 10 States, the District of Columbia, and 


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•HRES 163 IH 

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have 

adopted laws legalizing cannabis for adult recreational 

use; 

Whereas a total of 47 States have reformed their laws pertaining to cannabis outside of comport with the Schedule 

1 status of marijuana and its Federal criminalization; 

Whereas legal cannabis sales totaled $9.5 billion in 2017 and 

are projected to reach $23 billion by 2022; 

Whereas according to the American Civil Liberties Union 

(ACLU), enforcing cannabis prohibition laws costs taxpayers approximately $3.6 billion a year; 

Whereas the continued enforcement of cannabis prohibition 

laws results in over 600,000 arrests annually, disproportionately impacting people of color who are almost 4 

times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession 

than their White counterparts, despite equal rates of use 

across populations; 

Whereas people of color have been historically targeted by 

discriminatory sentencing practices resulting in Black 

men receiving drug sentences that are 13.1 percent 

longer than sentences imposed for White men and 

Latinos being nearly 6.5 times more likely to receive a 

Federal sentence for cannabis possession than non-Hispanic Whites; 

Whereas, in 2013, simple cannabis possession was the fourth 

most common cause of deportation for any offense and 

the most common cause of deportation for drug law violations; 

Whereas it is estimated that less than 1 percent of the cannabis industry is owned or operated by people of color; 


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Whereas applicants for cannabis licenses are limited by numerous laws, regulations, and exorbitant permit applications and licensing fees in these States, which can total 

more than $700,000; 

Whereas historically disproportionate arrest and conviction 

rates make it particularly difficult for people of color to 

enter the legal cannabis marketplace, as most States bar 

these individuals from participating; 

Whereas Federal law severely limits access to loans and capital for cannabis businesses, disproportionately impacting 

minority small business owners; and 

Whereas some States and municipalities have taken proactive 

steps to mitigate inequalities in the legal cannabis marketplace and ensure equal participation in the industry: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Realizing Equitable 

4 & Sustainable Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades 

5 Resolution’’ or the ‘‘RESPECT Resolution’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES AND STEPS TO ADDRESS DISPARI7 TIES IN THE CANNABIS MARKETPLACE PAR8 TICIPATION; ADDRESS, REVERSE, AND RE9 PAIR CERTAIN EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON 

10 DRUGS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The House of Representatives en12 courages States and localities to adopt best practices and 

13 take bold steps referred to in subsection (b) to address 


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1 disparities in the cannabis marketplace participation and 

2 to address, reverse, and repair the most egregious effects 

3 of the War on Drugs on communities of color, in par4 ticular to those who now hold criminal records for a sub5 stance that is now legal and regulated. 

6 (b) BEST PRACTICES AND STEPS.—The practices 

7 and steps referred to in this subsection include— 

8 (1) establishing licensing and application fees 

9 that are reasonable to cover only the costs of pro10 gram implementation and necessary regulations; 

11 (2) creating a system where licensing is to be 

12 obtained at the city or county level and should be 

13 based on regulations determined by the local juris14 diction that meet the State’s minimum require15 ments, which allows the community to determine the 

16 type and number of businesses, avoids arbitrary caps 

17 on licenses, and results in an industry more rep18 resentative of the local market; 

19 (3) in States where license caps are completely 

20 unavoidable, establishing local oversight and control 

21 of cannabis licenses by allowing local cities and mu22 nicipalities to prioritize licenses for local citizens and 

23 residents, especially individuals most impacted by 

24 the War on Drugs, by taking into account and 

25 prioritizing— 


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1 (A) long-term residency within the State or 

2 locality; 

3 (B) individuals whose income is less than 

4 80 percent of the median household income 

5 within a county; 

6 (C) individuals who have been formerly in7 carcerated; 

8 (D) individuals with prior drug law viola9 tions; and 

10 (E) individuals living within a jurisdiction 

11 that is heavily policed; 

12 (4) adopting laws and implementing regulations 

13 that will allow small cultivators to thrive in the legal 

14 market; 

15 (5) creating more equitable licensing by— 

16 (A) eliminating broad felony restrictions 

17 for licensing; 

18 (B) focusing restrictions on entering the 

19 market to those, determined on a case-by-case 

20 basis for both licensees and employees, with 

21 criminal convictions that are relevant to the 

22 owning and operating of a business; and 

23 (C) prohibiting previous cannabis convic24 tions from consideration as justification for a 

25 denial of a license; 


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1 (6) creating an automatic process, at no cost 

2 for the individual, for the expungement or sealing of 

3 criminal records for cannabis offenses that is inclu4 sive of individuals currently on parole or under any 

5 probationary agreement, for cannabis offenses; 

6 (7) establishing a process for resentencing per7 sons serving sentences for cannabis convictions and 

8 redesignating of penalties for persons previously con9 victed of cannabis-related crimes for which the pen10 alties have been reduced or removed; 

11 (8) eliminating suspicionless drug testing for 

12 nonsafety sensitive positions; 

13 (9) eliminating punishment or other penaliza14 tion for persons currently under parole, probation, 

15 or other State supervision, or released on bail await16 ing trial, for conduct otherwise allowed under State 

17 cannabis laws; 

18 (10) setting aside a percentage of the tax rev19 enue from cannabis sales to be reinvested in commu20 nities that have been most affected by cannabis ar21 rests and the drug war, which most frequently have 

22 been communities of color, including programs for 

23 job training, reentry services, expungement expenses, 

24 public libraries, community centers, programs and 


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1 opportunities dedicated to youth, and health edu2 cation programs; 

3 (11) using a percentage of tax revenue to estab4 lish a special fund to provide small business invest5 ments to support people of color entering into the 

6 legal marijuana industry; 

7 (12) establishing cannabis regulatory and over8 sight bodies and commissions that reflect the racial, 

9 ethnic, economic, and gender makeup of the sur10 rounding community; 

11 (13) creating employment and subcontracting 

12 requirements for cannabis licensee in order to use 

13 the ancillary business activity generated by the can14 nabis industry to employ people of color; and 

15 (14) including provisions designating spaces for 

16 public consumption, either by the licensing of social 

17 entities or by creating these spaces. 

Æ 


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