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Nat’l Assn. of Broadcasters applauds bill on cannabis-related ad protections.
The National Association of Broadcasters cheered for the House passage of the FY 2023 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, which included language that protects broadcasters who accept cannabis ads from FCC action, as long as state or other jurisdictional laws are followed.
“For too long, local broadcasters have been stuck in a regulatory purgatory because of conflicting federal and state cannabis laws,” NAB spokesman Alex Siciliano said in a statement.
State broadcasters associations have joined together in an effort to air cannabis ads, and have registered to lobby on the issue, as Cannabis Wire has reported.
“Today’s passage marks an important step towards allowing broadcasters to receive equal treatment for cannabis advertising that many other forms of media have enjoyed for years. While we are pleased to see the House act, broadcasters will continue to work with policymakers for a permanent resolution to this competitive disparity to the benefit of consumers.”
Lawmakers reach a deal on a cannabis research bill.
Back in April, Cannabis Wire reported on two cannabis research bills that each passed out of their respective chambers days apart.
The bill that cleared the House, H.R.5657, or the Medical Marijuana Research Act, was more expansive than S.253, or the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act, which cleared the Senate. The House bill would’ve, for example, allowed researchers to study state-legal cannabis products.
At the end of that story in April, we wrote: “What remains to be seen now is whether the co-sponsors in each chamber will come together behind one bill with the aim of getting something to President Joe Biden’s desk.”
Exactly that has happened. Lawmakers have merged their plans into a new bill, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, introduced this week. With bipartisan support, the bill is expected to move quickly in the coming days.
If it reaches Biden’s desk, it would be the first cannabis bill to do so.
Senate hearing on cannabis decriminalization is coming next week.
The Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism, chaired by Sen. Cory Booker, is hosting a hearing next Tuesday called “Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms.”
(The timing, on the heels of the reemergence of the CAO Act, co-sponsored by Booker, will be interesting.)
