Amazon Supports Marijuana Legalization Bill

Photo by CNBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, has expressed support for the federal-level marijuana legalization bill.

On the 1st (local time), according to US CNN and CNBC, Dave Clark, CEO of Amazon Global Consumer, stated in a blog post that "Amazon supports the marijuana legalization bill passed by the US House of Representatives at the end of last year," and urged policymakers to act swiftly to pass this law."

Amazon also announced plans to adjust its marijuana testing policy for some employees. CEO Clark explained, "We plan to change our drug testing policy," adding, "We will no longer conduct marijuana tests on certain employees."

However, he added that marijuana testing will still be conducted for specific positions regulated by the US Department of Transportation.

Earlier, the US House of Representatives passed a bill at the end of last year to remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances subject to enforcement and impose a 5% excise tax on marijuana.

Named the "Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act," this bill aims to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, which classifies marijuana as a dangerous drug and mandates penalties.

According to Bloomberg News, about 70% of Americans live in states that allow recreational or medical marijuana use, and legal marijuana sales are estimated to reach approximately $19.1 billion this year.

Following US President Joe Biden's campaign promise to legalize marijuana, the number of states legally permitting marijuana has increased to 16 out of the total 50 states in the US.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.