President Joe Biden began his first State of the Union Address laying out the numerous ways that he is working to support the people of war-torn Ukraine. He went on to describe his triumphs in turning around the economy post-pandemic and then rattled off several issues that he says need to be dealt with like crime, infrastructure, childcare, opioid abuse, veterans care, even going so far as to cure cancer, but the one element that was sorely lacking from the speech – cannabis.

The legislation would federally deschedule the plant, while allowing states to continue governing themselves with policies they deem appropriate. It also creates much needed social equity programs and creates a strategy for taxation. The two major surprises of the day were how middle of the road the legislation comes across and how fervently Booker is opposed to allowing the SAFE Banking Act to move forward.