Bill Would Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A bill introduced by U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, seeks to regulate marijuana like alcohol. The bill would take marijuana off the federal controlled substances list and establish a nationally regulated industry overseen by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

Blumenauer has long advocated legalizing marijuana at the federal level. He authored a blueprint last year for his like-minded congress members on how to achieve that goal now that the House of Representatives has a Democratic majority. 

The bill number for the so-called Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act is H.R. 420. That's a tongue-in-cheek reference to 420, a slang term frequently used to reference marijuana. 

Blumenauer is founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.