Outlaw Report — Cannabis Caucus Co-chair says no concrete plan to combine expungement with SAFE Banking Act

Written By Matt Laslo

By Matt Laslo, The LCB

WASHINGTON — Recent headlines about a new catch-all marijuana package being crafted at the Capitol have been overstated. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) says there’s no real effort to merge the SAFE Banking Act with his bill to expunge cannabis records.

Rather, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had broad conversations with Republicans about weed, including a wide-ranging one with Joyce where they discussed the possibility of combining the measures.

“I think we’re just discussing potential options and outcomes, and it was nice to engage in a bipartisan, bicameral discussion on what we think can work,” Joyce told The Outlaw Report.

Joyce and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are the lead sponsors of the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act, which would use Department of Justice grants to incentivize states to expunge cannabis offenses from people’s criminal records…

DIVE DEEPER: Read the full story at The Outlaw Report.

Matt Laslo

The LCB’s founder, veteran political correspondent Matt Laslo, has brought Washington, DC to life for millions (73+ million on last count) of listeners, viewers and readers. He’s reported for five Pulitzer Prize-winning news outlets, 60+ award-wining local NPR outlets, nonprofit newsrooms and national magazines. He also runs the popular interactive journalism startup Ask a Pol Politics — a Substack bestseller.

Laslo’s groundbreaking generative AI coverage has been cited in 13+ law reviews, think tanks and a fiery letter Sen. Elizabeth Warren letter penned to OpenAI founder Sam Altman. His data privacy reporting for WIRED is cited in 25+ law reviews — including Cornell, Duke and Harvard. His tech features are assigned reading at NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins and DePaul. Laslo’s also cited as a government reform expert in 20+ (mostly) books, while his “war on drugs,” opioid epidemic and criminal justice reform features are quoted in 25 law reviews and books.

https://mattlaslo.com
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