House Votes To Decriminalize Marijuana On A Federal Level
Socialites, get into this! For the first time in congressional history, the House of Representatives voted to pass a measure that would decriminalize marijuana use at the federal level.
This Friday, the Democratic-controlled House approved the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, by a vote of 228-164. While just five Republicans voted in favor of the measure, a total of six Democrats voted against removing marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances.
As many are aware, at the federal level, cannabis remains a Schedule I drug — along with other substances like Heroin, and ecstasy. However, if signed into U.S. law, the MORE Act would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and eliminate criminal penalties for individuals who manufacture, distribute, or possess marijuana. It will also include creating a process to remove prior convictions, known as expungement, and conduct sentencing review hearings for federal cannabis offenses, CNN reports.
In addition to that, the MORE Act would also provide reinvestment in certain communities negatively impacted by the “war on drugs,” which is funded by a 5% tax on cannabis products, and enable Small Business Administration funding for eligible cannabis-related businesses.
“One of the biggest winners of the 2020 election was cannabis reform,” said U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., co-sponsors of the MORE Act and chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. Americans in five very different states voted overwhelmingly to liberalize their cannabis policies, and it is clearer than ever that the American people are demanding a change to outdated cannabis laws,” they added, KTVU quotes.
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