I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3043 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into a 

10-year arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct 

and update biennially a study on the effects of State legalized marijuana 

programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2021 

Ms. GARCIA of Texas (for herself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following 

bill; 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 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

enter into a 10-year arrangement with the National 

Academy of Sciences to conduct and update biennially 

a study on the effects of State legalized marijuana programs, 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 Data Col5 lection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Nearly two-thirds of Americans—about 68 

4 percent—favor marijuana legalization. 

5 (2) A total of 33 States, the District of Colum6 bia, Puerto Rico, and Guam have legalized mari7 juana for medicinal use, and of those, 10 States and 

8 the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana 

9 for adult non-medicinal use. 

10 (3) Despite State legalization, marijuana re11 mains illegal under Federal law, listed in schedule I 

12 under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 

13 et seq.). 

14 (4) Every day, more Americans die from over15 dosing on opioids. In 2016, the Centers for Disease 

16 Control and Prevention estimated that more than 

17 42,000 Americans died from opioid-related drug 

18 overdoses. President Trump has, on 2 separate occa19 sions, declared the opioid crisis as a public health 

20 emergency. 

21 (5) Studies suggest that increased access to 

22 marijuana is associated with reductions in opioid 

23 abuse and opioid-related deaths, among other eco24 nomic and social benefits: 

25 (A) A study published in the Journal of 

26 the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 


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1 2014 that compared mortality rates between 

2 States that legalized medical marijuana versus 

3 States that have not legalized medical mari4 juana found that States that had legalized med5 ical marijuana had, on average, 20 percent 

6 fewer opioid-related overdose deaths in the first 

7 year of legalization compared to States that had 

8 not legalized marijuana. This difference wid9 ened in subsequent years after legalization. 

10 (B) A study published in the American 

11 Journal of Public Health in 2017 found that 

12 opioid-related deaths tended to decline after the 

13 legalization of non-medicinal marijuana for 

14 adults in the State of Colorado. This study esti15 mated a 6.5-percent reduction in opioid-related 

16 deaths compared to pre-legalization. 

17 (6) Due to marijuana legalization, States have 

18 generated millions in taxes and revenue and have al19 located these funds into public health, education, 

20 economic development, restorative justice, and job 

21 creation, such as— 

22 (A) substance use disorder treatment and 

23 drug use prevention programs; 

24 (B) school construction; 

25 (C) behavioral health programs; 


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1 (D) State alcohol and drug treatments 

2 funds; 

3 (E) basic health plans; 

4 (F) community residential centers; 

5 (G) youth drug use prevention; 

6 (H) jail diversion; 

7 (I) mental health treatment; and 

8 (J) job creation and placement. 

9 (7) A robust and properly regulated marijuana 

10 industry wherein States are allowed to operate mari11 juana programs free from Federal interference 

12 stands to benefit States’ public health, education, 

13 economic, and law enforcement and judicial sectors. 

14 SEC. 3. REPORT CONCERNING THE EFFECTS OF STATE LE15 GALIZED MARIJUANA PROGRAMS. 

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

17 Human Services, in coordination with the Attorney Gen18 eral, the Secretary of Labor, and (to the greatest extent 

19 possible) with relevant State agencies responsible for 

20 health programs and activities in States that have legal21 ized marijuana for medicinal or non-medicinal use, shall 

22 enter into a 10-year arrangement with the National Acad23 emy of Sciences— 

24 (1) to complete a study, not later than 18 

25 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and 


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1 to update such study on a biennial basis thereafter 

2 for the duration of the arrangement period, on the 

3 effects of State legalized marijuana programs on the 

4 economy, public health, criminal justice, and employ5 ment in the respective States; 

6 (2) upon the completion of the initial study pur7 suant to paragraph (1) and upon each update to the 

8 study, to prepare or update a report on the results 

9 of such study and submit such report to Congress; 

10 and 

11 (3) not later than 30 days after the date of sub12 mission of the initial report under paragraph (2), 

13 develop and publish best practices on data collection 

14 under subsection (e). 

15 (b) STUDY CONSIDERATIONS.—The study pursuant 

16 to subsection (a)(1) shall consider the effects of State le17 galized marijuana programs, including yearly rates and 

18 trends over the course of the study under such subsection, 

19 with respect to the following: 

20 (1) REVENUES AND STATE ALLOCATIONS.— 

21 (A) The monetary amounts generated 

22 through revenues, taxes, and any other financial 

23 benefits. 

24 (B) The purposes and relative amounts for 

25 which such funds were used. 


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1 (C) The total impact on the State and its 

2 budget. 

3 (2) MEDICINAL USE OF MARIJUANA.— 

4 (A) The rates of medicinal use of mari5 juana among different population groups, in6 cluding children, the elderly, veterans, and indi7 viduals with disabilities. 

8 (B) The purpose of such use. 

9 (C) Which medical conditions medical 

10 marijuana is most frequently purchased and 

11 used for. 

12 (3) SUBSTANCE USE.— 

13 (A) The rates of overdoses with opioids 

14 and other painkillers. 

15 (B) The rates of admission in health care 

16 facilities, emergency rooms, and volunteer treat17 ment facilities related to overdoses with opioids 

18 and other painkillers. 

19 (C) The rates of opioid-related and other 

20 painkiller-related crimes to one’s self and to the 

21 community. 

22 (D) The rates of opioid prescriptions and 

23 other pain killers. 

24 (4) IMPACTS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE.— 


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1 (A) The rates of marijuana-related arrests 

2 for possession, cultivation, and distribution, and 

3 of these arrests, the percentages that involved a 

4 secondary charge unrelated to marijuana pos5 session, cultivation, or distribution, including— 

6 (i) the rates of such arrests on the 

7 Federal level, including the number of 

8 Federal prisoners so arrested, 

9 disaggregated by sex, age, race, and eth10 nicity of the prisoners; and 

11 (ii) the rates of such arrests on the 

12 State level, including the number of State 

13 prisoners so arrested, disaggregated by 

14 sex, age, race, and ethnicity. 

15 (B) The rates of arrests and citations on 

16 the Federal and State levels related to teenage 

17 use of marijuana. 

18 (C) The rates of arrests on the Federal 

19 and State levels for unlawful driving under the 

20 influence of a substance, and the rates of such 

21 arrests involving marijuana. 

22 (D) The rates of marijuana-related pros23 ecutions, court filings, and imprisonments. 

24 (E) The total monetary amounts expended 

25 for marijuana-related enforcement, arrests, 


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1 court filings and proceedings, and imprisonment 

2 before and after legalization, including Federal 

3 expenditures disaggregated according to wheth4 er the laws being enforced were Federal or 

5 State. 

6 (F) The total number and rate of defend7 ants in Federal criminal prosecutions asserting 

8 as a defense that their conduct was in compli9 ance with applicable State law legalizing mari10 juana usage, and the effects of such assertions. 

11 (5) EMPLOYMENT.— 

12 (A) The amount of jobs created in each 

13 State, differentiating between direct and indi14 rect employment. 

15 (B) The amount of jobs expected to be cre16 ated in the next 5 years, and in the next 10 

17 years, as a result of the State’s marijuana in18 dustry. 

19 (c) STUDY TIMEFRAME.—The study pursuant to sub20 section (a)(1) shall consider the data collected and ana21 lyzed in connection with the items listed in subsection (b) 

22 in the respective States to the extent possible across the 

23 period— 

24 (1) beginning 5 years before the effective date 

25 of legalization of marijuana in the State; and 


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1 (2) ending on a date determined by the Na2 tional Academy of Sciences to allow collection and 

3 analysis of the most recent data available. 

4 (d) REPORT CONTENTS.—Reports pursuant to sub5 section (a)(2) shall— 

6 (1) address both State programs that have le7 galized marijuana for medicinal use and those that 

8 have legalized marijuana for adult non-medicinal use 

9 and to the extent practicable distinguish between 

10 such programs and their effects; 

11 (2) include a national assessment of average 

12 trends across States with such programs in relation 

13 to the effects on economy, public health, criminal 

14 justice, and employment in the respective States, in15 cluding with respect to the items listed in subsection 

16 (b); and 

17 (3) describe— 

18 (A) any barriers that impeded the ability 

19 to complete or update aspects of the study re20 quired by subsection (a)(1) and how such bar21 riers can be overcome for purposes of future 

22 studies; and 

23 (B) any gaps in the data sought for the 

24 study required by subsection (a)(1) and how 


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1 these gaps can be eliminated or otherwise ad2 dressed for purposes of future studies. 

3 (e) BEST PRACTICES FOR DATA COLLECTION BY

4 STATES.—The best practices pursuant to subsection 

5 (a)(3) shall consist of best practices for the collection by 

6 States of the information described in the items listed in 

7 subsection (b), including such best practices for improv8 ing— 

9 (1) data collection; 

10 (2) analytical capacity; 

11 (3) research integrity; and 

12 (4) the comparability of data across States. 

Æ 


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