After a series of delays, the House of Representatives finally voted to approve the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act today. If passed, the bill would deschedule cannabis and decriminalize it at the federal level. But that doesn’t mean weed would immediately become legal across the U.S.—the bill would leave it to the states to decide how they want to regulate the substance. The bill also includes some provisions for expunging records and previous cannabis-related convictions, as well as measures to ensure that those most harmed by the war on drugs have the chance to participate in a legal cannabis market.
The current version of the bill isn’t perfect, and it still needs to pass through the Senate (it isn’t expected to come up for a vote in this congressional session or the next, Politico explains). But activists are celebrating this victory as a historic moment for federal cannabis legislation—and a sign of just how much political and public opinion has changed on cannabis.
“This is an historic day for marijuana policy in the United States,” Erik Altieri, executive director of NORML, said in a statement. “This vote marks the first time in 50 years that a chamber of Congress has ever revisited the classification of cannabis as a federally controlled and prohibited substance, and it marks the first time in 24 years—when California became the first state defy the federal government on the issue of marijuana prohibition—that Congress has sought to close the widening chasm between state and federal marijuana policies.”
“We’re here because we have failed three generations of Black and Brown young people, whose lives can be ruined, or lost, by selective enforcement of these laws,” U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer said on the House floor. “This legislation will end that disaster. It’s time for Congress to step up and do its part. We need to catch up with the rest of the American people.”
However, during the amendment process that took place over the past week as the bill was being finalized, some of the language in the bill was changed. The first changes were seen on Monday around the tax provision in the bill. The way the provision is written now could allow for some people with previous cannabis convictions to be denied federal permits to participate in the legal cannabis industry, Maritza Perez, director of the office of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, tells SELF. More changes came from Democratic representatives in the rules committee meeting on Wednesday, she explains. These changes specify that only people with “nonviolent” past cannabis convictions would be eligible for expungement and resentencing and they specifically exclude high-level traffickers, a decision that DPA strictly opposes.
But, ultimately, the bill was approved in the House. And although Perez says it’s understandable that representatives felt like they had to add those amendments to secure votes, “it’s not good policy and not a policy decision that we agree with whatsoever.”
“The criminalization of marijuana is a cornerstone of the racist war on drugs,” Perez said in a statement. “Today the House took the most powerful step forward to address that shameful legacy. But the MORE Act as passed is imperfect, and we will continue to demand more until our communities have the world they deserve.”
To learn more about the MORE Act and what it could accomplish, continue to our original story below.
Original report (September 2, 2020):
In a historic move, the House of Representatives is set to vote this month on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, Politico reports. The bill would deschedule cannabis (marijuana), and therefore decriminalize it at the federal level. Unfortunately, the bill doesn’t have the best chances of making it through Congress due to Republican opposition in the Senate. But the fact that it has made it this far—and that it will actually be voted on—is a big deal.
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