U.S. House Passes MORE Act
If passed in the Senate, the MORE Act would decriminalize marijuana at the federal-level
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On April 1, The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution known as H.R.3617: Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would federally decriminalize marijuana. The legislation’s passage comes after twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana.
Specifically, the bill removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for individuals who manufacture, distribute, or possess marijuana according to the Associated Press.
As reported by the Washington Post, the MORE Act also would provide for the expungement of federal marijuana convictions dating to 1971. Further, it would bar the denial of federal public benefits or security clearances on the basis of marijuana convictions.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that thousands of inmates would be released earlier than under current law. This would save about $800 million and reduce the by nearly $3 billion over the next decade.
The legislation sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), passed the house with a mostly party-line vote of 220-204. All except for two voting Democrats backed the measure, while only three Republicans did.
Nadler said his bill “would set a new path forward and would begin to correct some of the injustices of the last 50 years.”
He continued, “Whatever one’s views are on the use of marijuana for recreational or medicinal use, the policy of arrests, prosecution and incarceration at the federal level has proven both unwise and unjust.”
Currently, thirty-seven states and District of Columbia allow the medical use of cannabis while 18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. As a result, cannabis has created jobs, with legal cannabis sales totaling $17.5 billion in 2020 and expected to reach $41 billion by 2026.
In order to help existing cannabis businesses, the bill authorizes a 5% tax on marijuana and marijuana products that would gradually increase to 8% over five years, as reported by the Associated Press. The tax revenue will then be used for grant programs focused on job training, legal aid, substance abuse treatment and loans to help disadvantaged small businesses enter the cannabis industry.
The April 1 vote gave lawmakers the chance to state their view on a decriminalization push that appears to have the support of the American Public. In 2020, a Gallup survey found that 68 percent of Americans said the use of marijuana should be legal.
In remarks on the House floor, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) argued that the legislation would help repair the devastation of the war on drugs and the country’s “failed policy of marijuana prohibition, which has led to the shattering of so many lives, primarily Black and brown people.”
“Make no mistake: Yes, it is a racial justice bill,” Lee said. “According to the ACLU, Black Americans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis and related crimes than White Americans, despite equal rates of use. These arrests can have a detrimental impact on a person’s quality of life and can lead to difficulty finding employment, securing housing and accessing other benefits.”
Republicans who opposed the act said marijuana is a gateway drug that would lead to greater use of opioids and other dangerous substances. Further, they argued the cannabis sold today is far more potent than what was sold decades ago, leading to greater impairment for users, as reported by the Washington Post.
Additionally, Republican opponents of the measure claimed that decriminalization is not the priority and that lawmakers should be focused the war in Ukraine and inflation driving up the cost of gas, food and other essential items.
Rep. Bob Good (R-VA-5) said, “Yet the priority of this Congress now turns to expanding access to addictive, behavior-altering recreational drugs at a time when our country is also experiencing increased addiction, depression and suicide.”
In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are expected to release draft marijuana legislation later this month.
In an April 1 statement, Schumer praised the House passage of the MORE Act, expressed his own support for decriminalization, and declared that “the time has come for comprehensive reform of federal cannabis laws.” He added that he, Booker and Wyden plan to introduce their legislation “very soon.”
“Of course, we will need Republicans to pass a legalization bill in the Senate, and we will be working hard to try and get them,” Schumer added.
The MORE ACT is expected to die in the Senate and is unlikely to become law. This would mirror what happened when the House passed similar legislation in December 2020, which failed to be brought up for a vote in the then Republican-controlled Senate.
As of April 4, the bill was received in the Senate, read twice, and referred to the Committee on Finance.