H.R. 499 would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, leaving it up to the states to decide whether to allow marijuana for medicinal or recreational use.
Specifically, the bill would:
Remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances;
Transfer the Drug Enforcement Administration’s authority to regulate marijuana to a newly renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms, which will be tasked with regulating marijuana as it currently does alcohol; and
Require marijuana producers and sellers to purchase a permit, as commercial alcohol producers do, of which the proceeds would offset the cost of federal oversight.
States could choose to continue to prohibit marijuana production or use.