The US House on Friday passed legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, marking the first time that either chamber of Congress has voted to legalize marijuana.
The legislation, called the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, was passed on a party-line vote of 228-164.
“The MORE Act is a common-sense bill that will make a tangible, real difference in the lives of millions of Americans. I'm proud of this bill centered around ideals of racial, economic, and moral justice and I look forward to the House passing it today,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who introduced the bill, tweeted before the bill was voted on.
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) December 4, 2020
The GOP-controlled Senate, however, is not expected to vote for legislation which would remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances, expunging some marijuana convictions for nonviolent criminals, and impose a 5% sales tax on cannabis products.
The bill would also ban the “denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions."
“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. This legislation will end that disaster. It's time for Congress to step up and do its part,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said on the House floor on Friday, the Hill reported.
The bill would allow states to individually implement their own regulations on the sale and distribution of medical marijuana. Individuals, however, would no longer be prosecuted on a federal level for marijuana transgressions.
The bill is supported by organizations including the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Marijuana Policy Project and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The bill has been criticized by an anti-cannabis group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
“It’s an unserious bill that was voted on in an unserious manner and we rest easily knowing there is zero interest in moving this bill in the Senate and zero interest in supporting it in either the current administration or the incoming one,” the organization’s president, Kevin Sabet, said in a statement to the Hill.
Earlier this week, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the House for passing the cannabis bill instead of focusing on a COVID-19 stimulus bill that both parties reportedly have agreed upon.
"The House of Representatives is spending this week on pressing issues like marijuana. You know, serious and important legislation befitting this national crisis," McConnell sarcastically said this week, CBS reported.
Recreational marijuana is currently legal in 15 states and Washington DC. Medical marijuana is legal in 34 states.
