Title: STATES Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act or the STATES Act
This bill eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for certain marijuana-related activities that comply with state or tribal law.
The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the effects of marijuana legalization on traffic safety.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1028 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1028

   To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for a new rule 
   regarding the application of the Act to marihuana, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 4, 2019

Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. 
 Cramer, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Paul, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. 
Wyden) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for a new rule 
   regarding the application of the Act to marihuana, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening the Tenth Amendment 
Through Entrusting States Act'' or the ``STATES Act''.

SEC. 2. RULE REGARDING APPLICATION TO MARIHUANA.

    Part G of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

               ``rule regarding application to marihuana

    ``Sec. 710.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
provisions of this title as applied to marihuana, other than the 
provisions described in subsection (c) and other than as provided in 
subsection (d), shall not apply to any person acting in compliance with 
State law relating to the manufacture, production, possession, 
distribution, dispensation, administration, or delivery of marihuana.
    ``(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions of 
this title related to marihuana, other than the provisions described in 
subsection (c) and other than as provided in subsection (d), shall not 
apply to any person acting in compliance with the law of a Federally 
recognized Indian tribe within its jurisdiction in Indian Country, as 
defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code, related to the 
manufacture, production, possession, distribution, dispensation, 
administration, or delivery of marihuana so long as such jurisdiction 
is located within a State that permits, respectively, manufacture, 
production, possession, distribution, dispensation, administration, or 
delivery of marihuana.
    ``(c) The provisions described in this subsection are--
            ``(1) section 401(a)(1), with respect to a violation of 
        section 409 or 418;
            ``(2) section 409;
            ``(3) section 417; and
            ``(4) section 418.
    ``(d) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any person who--
            ``(1) violates the Controlled Substances Act with respect 
        to any other controlled substance;
            ``(2) notwithstanding compliance with State or tribal law, 
        knowingly or intentionally manufactures, produces, possesses, 
        distributes, dispenses, administers, or delivers any other 
        marihuana in violation of the laws of the State or tribe in 
        which such manufacture, production, possession, distribution, 
        dispensation, administration, or delivery occurs; or
            ``(3) employs or hires any person under 18 years of age to 
        manufacture, produce, distribute, dispense, administer, or 
        deliver marihuana.''.

SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION SAFETY OFFENSES.

    Section 409 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 849) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``A person'' and inserting ``Except 
                as provided in subsection (d), a person''; and
                    (B) by striking ``subsection (b)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (c)'';
            (2) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``A person'' and inserting ``Except 
                as provided in subsection (d), a person''; and
                    (B) by striking ``subsection (a)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (b)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Exception.--Subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to any 
person who possesses, or possesses with intent to distribute marihuana 
in compliance with section 710.''.

SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTION TO PERSONS UNDER AGE 21.

    Section 418 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 859) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by inserting 
        ``and subsection (c) of this section'' after ``section 419'';
            (2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by inserting 
        ``and subsection (c) of this section'' after ``section 419''; 
        and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to any person at 
least 18 years of age who distributes medicinal marihuana to a person 
under 21 years of age in compliance with section 710.''.

SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON EFFECTS OF MARIHUANA LEGALIZATION 
              ON TRAFFIC SAFETY.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study on the effects of marihuana legalization on traffic 
safety.
    (b) Inclusions.--The study conducted under subsection (a) shall 
include a detailed assessment of--
            (1) traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries in States 
        that have legalized marihuana use, including whether States are 
        able to accurately evaluate marihuana impairment in those 
        incidents;
            (2) actions taken by the States referred to in paragraph 
        (1) to address marihuana-impaired driving, including any 
        challenges faced in addressing marihuana-impaired driving;
            (3) testing standards used by the States referred to in 
        paragraph (1) to evaluate marihuana impairment in traffic 
        crashes, fatalities, and injuries, including any scientific 
        methods used to determine impairment and analyze data; and
            (4) Federal initiatives aiming to assist States that have 
        legalized marihuana with traffic safety, including 
        recommendations for policies and programs to be carried out by 
        the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the results of the 
study conducted under subsection (a).

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) In General.--Conduct in compliance with this Act and the 
amendments made by this Act--
            (1) shall not be unlawful;
            (2) shall not constitute trafficking in a controlled 
        substance under section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act 
        (21 U.S.C. 841) or any other provision of law; and
            (3) shall not constitute the basis for forfeiture of 
        property under section 511 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
        U.S.C. 881) or section 981 of title 18, United States Code.
    (b) Proceeds.--The proceeds from any transaction in compliance with 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not be deemed to be 
the proceeds of an unlawful transaction under section 1956 or 1957 of 
title 18, United States Code, or any other provision of law.
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