"Fifty years ago this week, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize cannabis. I was honored to be a part of that process.
It is time for the federal government to catch up.
We owe it to the generations of Black Americans targeted by the failed war on drugs.
We owe it to our veterans, with their wounds seen and unseen.
We owe it to thousands of workers who fail drug tests every day because they use state-legal cannabis weeks before.
We owe it to the large and growing cannabis industry, whose employees are targets for violent robbery because we deny them bank accounts.
We owe it to the American public who are not waiting for the federal government.
We need a framework to tax and regulate cannabis.
On the anniversary of Oregon's historic step to decriminalize cannabis, it's past time for the federal government to be a real partner—and not a road block—on the path forward."
