Marijuana Data Collection Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1456 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into a 10-year arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct and update biennially a study on the effects of State legalized marijuana programs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 29, 2021 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. PAUL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into a 10-year arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct and update biennially a study on the effects of State legalized marijuana pro- grams, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marijuana Data Col- 4 lection Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1456 IS (1) Nearly two-thirds of Americans—about 68 1 percent—favor marijuana legalization. 2 (2) A total of 33 States, the District of Colum- 3 bia, Puerto Rico, and Guam have legalized mari- 4 juana for medicinal use, and of those, 10 States and 5 the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana 6 for adult non-medicinal use. 7 (3) Despite State legalization, marijuana re- 8 mains illegal under Federal law, listed in schedule I 9 under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 10 et seq.). 11 (4) Every day, more Americans die from over- 12 dosing on opioids. In 2016, the Centers for Disease 13 Control and Prevention estimated that more than 14 42,000 Americans died from opioid-related drug 15 overdoses. President Trump has, on 2 separate occa- 16 sions, declared the opioid crisis as a public health 17 emergency. 18 (5) Studies suggest that increased access to 19 marijuana is associated with reductions in opioid 20 abuse and opioid-related deaths, among other eco- 21 nomic and social benefits: 22 (A) A study published in the Journal of 23 the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 24 2014 that compared mortality rates between 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1456 IS States that legalized medical marijuana versus 1 States that have not legalized medical mari- 2 juana found that States that had legalized med- 3 ical marijuana had, on average, 20 percent 4 fewer opioid-related overdose deaths in the first 5 year of legalization compared to States that had 6 not legalized marijuana. This difference wid- 7 ened in subsequent years after legalization. 8 (B) A study published in the American 9 Journal of Public Health in 2017 found that 10 opioid-related deaths tended to decline after the 11 legalization of non-medicinal marijuana for 12 adults in the State of Colorado. This study esti- 13 mated a 6.5-percent reduction in opioid-related 14 deaths compared to pre-legalization. 15 (6) Due to marijuana legalization, States have 16 generated millions in taxes and revenue and have al- 17 located these funds into public health, education, 18 economic development, restorative justice, and job 19 creation, such as— 20 (A) substance use disorder treatment and 21 drug use prevention programs; 22 (B) school construction; 23 (C) behavioral health programs; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1456 IS (D) State alcohol and drug treatments 1 funds; 2 (E) basic health plans; 3 (F) community residential centers; 4 (G) youth drug use prevention; 5 (H) jail diversion; 6 (I) mental health treatment; and 7 (J) job creation and placement. 8 (7) A robust and properly regulated marijuana 9 industry wherein States are allowed to operate mari- 10 juana programs free from Federal interference 11 stands to benefit States’ public health, education, 12 economic, and law enforcement and judicial sectors. 13 SEC. 3. REPORT CONCERNING THE EFFECTS OF STATE LE- 14 GALIZED MARIJUANA PROGRAMS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 16 Human Services, in coordination with the Attorney Gen- 17 eral, the Secretary of Labor, and (to the greatest extent 18 possible) with relevant State agencies responsible for 19 health programs and activities in States that have legal- 20 ized marijuana for medicinal or non-medicinal use, shall 21 enter into a 10-year arrangement with the National Acad- 22 emy of Sciences— 23 (1) to complete a study, not later than 18 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1456 IS to update such study on a biennial basis thereafter 1 for the duration of the arrangement period, on the 2 effects of State legalized marijuana programs on the 3 economy, public health, criminal justice, and employ- 4 ment in the respective States; 5 (2) upon the completion of the initial study pur- 6 suant to paragraph (1) and upon each update to the 7 study, to prepare or update a report on the results 8 of such study and submit such report to Congress; 9 and 10 (3) not later than 30 days after the date of sub- 11 mission of the initial report under paragraph (2), 12 develop and publish best practices on data collection 13 under subsection (e). 14 (b) STUDY CONSIDERATIONS.—The study pursuant 15 to subsection (a)(1) shall consider the effects of State le- 16 galized marijuana programs, including yearly rates and 17 trends over the course of the study under such subsection, 18 with respect to the following: 19 (1) REVENUES AND STATE ALLOCATIONS.— 20 (A) The monetary amounts generated 21 through revenues, taxes, and any other financial 22 benefits. 23 (B) The purposes and relative amounts for 24 which such funds were used. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1456 IS (C) The total impact on the State and its 1 budget. 2 (2) MEDICINAL USE OF MARIJUANA.— 3 (A) The rates of medicinal use of mari- 4 juana among different population groups, in- 5 cluding children, the elderly, veterans, and indi- 6 viduals with disabilities. 7 (B) The purpose of such use. 8 (C) Which medical conditions medical 9 marijuana is most frequently purchased and 10 used for. 11 (3) SUBSTANCE USE.— 12 (A) The rates of overdoses with opioids 13 and other painkillers. 14 (B) The rates of admission in health care 15 facilities, emergency rooms, and volunteer treat- 16 ment facilities related to overdoses with opioids 17 and other painkillers. 18 (C) The rates of opioid-related and other 19 painkiller-related crimes to one’s self and to the 20 community. 21 (D) The rates of opioid prescriptions and 22 other pain killers. 23 (4) IMPACTS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1456 IS (A) The rates of marijuana-related arrests 1 for possession, cultivation, and distribution, and 2 of these arrests, the percentages that involved a 3 secondary charge unrelated to marijuana pos- 4 session, cultivation, or distribution, including— 5 (i) the rates of such arrests on the 6 Federal level, including the number of 7 Federal prisoners so arrested, disaggre- 8 gated by sex, age, race, and ethnicity of 9 the prisoners; and 10 (ii) the rates of such arrests on the 11 State level, including the number of State 12 prisoners so arrested, disaggregated by 13 sex, age, race, and ethnicity. 14 (B) The rates of arrests and citations on 15 the Federal and State levels related to teenage 16 use of marijuana. 17 (C) The rates of arrests on the Federal 18 and State levels for unlawful driving under the 19 influence of a substance, and the rates of such 20 arrests involving marijuana. 21 (D) The rates of marijuana-related pros- 22 ecutions, court filings, and imprisonments. 23 (E) The total monetary amounts expended 24 for marijuana-related enforcement, arrests, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1456 IS court filings and proceedings, and imprisonment 1 before and after legalization, including Federal 2 expenditures disaggregated according to wheth- 3 er the laws being enforced were Federal or 4 State. 5 (F) The total number and rate of defend- 6 ants in Federal criminal prosecutions asserting 7 as a defense that their conduct was in compli- 8 ance with applicable State law legalizing mari- 9 juana usage, and the effects of such assertions. 10 (5) EMPLOYMENT.— 11 (A) The amount of jobs created in each 12 State, differentiating between direct and indi- 13 rect employment. 14 (B) The amount of jobs expected to be cre- 15 ated in the next 5 years, and in the next 10 16 years, as a result of the State’s marijuana in- 17 dustry. 18 (c) STUDY TIMEFRAME.—The study pursuant to sub- 19 section (a)(1) shall consider the data collected and ana- 20 lyzed in connection with the items listed in subsection (b) 21 in the respective States to the extent possible across the 22 period— 23 (1) beginning 5 years before the effective date 24 of legalization of marijuana in the State; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1456 IS (2) ending on a date determined by the Na- 1 tional Academy of Sciences to allow collection and 2 analysis of the most recent data available. 3 (d) REPORT CONTENTS.—Reports pursuant to sub- 4 section (a)(2) shall— 5 (1) address both State programs that have le- 6 galized marijuana for medicinal use and those that 7 have legalized marijuana for adult non-medicinal use 8 and to the extent practicable distinguish between 9 such programs and their effects; 10 (2) include a national assessment of average 11 trends across States with such programs in relation 12 to the effects on economy, public health, criminal 13 justice, and employment in the respective States, in- 14 cluding with respect to the items listed in subsection 15 (b); and 16 (3) describe— 17 (A) any barriers that impeded the ability 18 to complete or update aspects of the study re- 19 quired by subsection (a)(1) and how such bar- 20 riers can be overcome for purposes of future 21 studies; and 22 (B) any gaps in the data sought for the 23 study required by subsection (a)(1) and how 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1456 IS these gaps can be eliminated or otherwise ad- 1 dressed for purposes of future studies. 2 (e) BEST PRACTICES FOR DATA COLLECTION BY 3 STATES.—The best practices pursuant to subsection 4 (a)(3) shall consist of best practices for the collection by 5 States of the information described in the items listed in 6 subsection (b), including such best practices for improv- 7 ing— 8 (1) data collection; 9 (2) analytical capacity; 10 (3) research integrity; and 11 (4) the comparability of data across States. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1456.IS S1456 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS