Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) will retire next month. Blumenauer, or “Earl” as he was often called, has been a leading advocate for marijuana reform since 1973, when Oregon became the first state to decriminalize marijuana use. Blumenauer was a newcomer to the Oregon House of Representatives at the time and has been a vocal advocate for cannabis reform ever since.
I have been fortunate to have worked with Mr. Blumenauer and his office over the years to develop my I was able to work with him on all sorts of things, including hosting him at a former cannabis law and policy lecture. course. One of the things that stood out to me in these conversations was Earle's continued optimism about federal cannabis reform. When asked, he said, “That's likely this year.”
Of course, Blumenauer wasn't always right, but if we're going to fight the war on drugs for more than half a century, we need to be optimistic. And his accomplishments in federal legislation are remarkable. In 2012, Blumenauer and former Congressman Jared Polis released the first comprehensive legislative blueprint to federally legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana. In 2014, Mr. Blumenauer promoted the Rohrabacher-Fahr Amendment, now known as the Blumenauer Amendment, which would prohibit the Department of Justice from spending money to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. It worked.
In 2017, Blumenauer and a small group of allies launched the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, which continues to advance cannabis policy today. Blumenauer’s first legislative victory (of sorts) came in 2020, when his Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act became the first comprehensive legalization bill to pass both chambers of Congress. When the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act of 2022 was signed into law by President Biden, he made more history. This proposal remains the only single federal marijuana reform ever enacted.
More recently, Blumenauer has continued to press the DEA to be more transparent in its schedule review process. He also urged the Biden-Harris administration to postpone the cannabis plan altogether. On his way out of office, he continued to appeal to his administration to accept the political benefits of cannabis reform, a point he repeatedly made to ministers. He also continues to promote:
Blumenauer even found time to sponsor a psychedelic law known as the Vision Act that would insulate state psilocybin programs from federal action. The bill would be introduced as an appropriation rider, much like the Blumenauer Amendment does annually for cannabis.
There have been other prominent cannabis advocates in Congress over the years, from traditional stalwarts like Bernie Sanders to “evolved” politicians like Kamala Harris. But no one has been there as long and fought as consistently and as hard as Count Blumenauer.
As cannabis becomes federally legal, we should remember the tireless advocacy and vision of our representatives from Oregon's 3rd District. Earl Blumenauer is a true cannabis champion.
