MJBizMag October 2020 - 59

won a special election that year to serve
out the remainder of Franken's term.
Smith supported medical marijuana
but not recreational legalization until this
July, when she surprised many political
observers by introducing the Substance
Regulation and Safety Act of 2020. The
bill deschedules marijuana, authorizes
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
to regulate MJ products, promotes the
safety and quality control of MJ crops
and addresses racial inequities stemming
from the war on drugs.
Her opponent, Jason Lewis, also
has been a strong supporter of state
marijuana programs. " The federal
government has no business sending in
the FBI and Department of Justice to
prosecute people in full compliance with
their own state's law, " Lewis stressed on
Twitter in 2018. As a congressman, he's
co-sponsored legislation prohibiting
federal money from being used to
enforce prohibition and descheduling
marijuana to advance research.
Upshot: While Lewis would be one
of the more pro-marijuana Republicans
if elected, Smith's support of federal
adult-use legalization makes her a strong
industry ally.
Here are six more Senate races whose
outcomes could shape the marijuana
industry going forward.
COLORADO
U.S. Sen. Cory
Gardner (R)
versus John
Hickenlooper (D)
Cory Gardner is perhaps the most
progressive Senate Republican on
marijuana, having co-sponsored bills such
as the 2018 STATES Act and the 2019
SAFE Banking Act. " I am obligated to
the people of Colorado to take all steps
necessary to protect the state of Colorado
and their rights, " Gardner said shortly
after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions
jettisoned the Obama-era Cole Memo.
But Gardner trails his opponent
in polls. After initially opposing
marijuana legalization as the state's top
executive, former Colorado Gov. John
Hickenlooper became more supportive
after the success of legalization in his
state. Hickenlooper told Iowa Public
Television last year, " We should
decriminalize on a federal level. ...
Declassify it from a Schedule 1 narcotic "
and allow banks to service cannabis
businesses.
Hickenlooper also said the federal
government should not force legalization
on states, but it should have a role in
regulating the marijuana industry.
Upshot: Each candidate is good for
marijuana, but some industry analysts
lean toward Hickenlooper because a
Democratic majority in the Senate is
more likely to advance MJ legislation
than a Republican majority Senate.
MAINE
U.S. Sen.
Susan Collins
(R) versus
Maine House
Speaker Sara Gideon (D)
Susan Collins has at best a checkered
record on marijuana reform, voting
for amendments that would prohibit
the FDA from using federal funds to
interfere with state medical marijuana
programs but voting against cannabis
banking reform and opposing federal
recreational legalization.
" From a federal perspective, if there
were a bill in the Senate to legalize marijuana,
I would vote against it, " Collins
said in 2018.
Sara Gideon, Collins' challenger, is
a former speaker of the Maine House
of Representatives who voted for a bill
creating a regulatory structure for that
state's recreational marijuana program.
Gideon's former chief policy adviser,
Erik Gunderson, heads Maine's Office of
Marijuana Policy.
Upshot: Collins has long
disappointed marijuana advocates,
while Gideon's support for adult use
in her own state would make her an
industry asset at the federal level.
SOUTH
CAROLINA
U.S. Sen.
Lindsey
Graham (R)
versus Jaime Harrison (D)
Lindsey Graham was initially a
nightmare when it came to marijuana
reform-opposing medical legalization
and the SAFE Banking Act while
supporting jail time for MJ possession.
More recently, Graham's record has
improved somewhat thanks to his
support for veterans' access to medical
marijuana and amendments prohibiting
federal interference in state MJ programs.
Jaime Harrison is an associate chair
of the Democratic National Committee
and former chair of the South Carolina
Democratic Party. He favors the tax-andregulate
approach to federal marijuana
legalization.
" I think we should legalize, regulate
and tax marijuana like we do alcohol and
tobacco, " Harrison told CNBC in July.
Harrison, a former lobbyist, also helped
pass a medical marijuana bill in the
South Carolina House of Representatives
in 2017, but the legislation never cleared
the state Senate.
Upshot: While Graham has become
less draconian in his approach to
marijuana, Harrison's support for federal
legalization makes him the industry's
clear favorite. And Harrison has a real
shot. While Graham was the favorite early
in the race, polls show Harrison-who
has out-fundraised Graham in the past
two finance cycles-in a dead heat with
the incumbent.
TEXAS
U.S. Sen.
John Cornyn
(R) versus MJ
Hegar (D)
John Cornyn is among the most
anti-marijuana senators in Washington
DC. He opposes medical marijuana
legalization and amendments that would
prohibit federal interference into state
MMJ programs.
October 2020 | mjbizdaily.com 59
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MJBizMag October 2020

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