Congressional Committee Passes Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

The House Judiciary Committee has approved the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act on a 24-10 vote. The bill now moves to the Senate, marking the first time a congressional committee has approved action removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances. The MORE Act would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, reassess marijuana convictions and invest in local communities. It now will be presented to the full House of Representatives.

Key parts of the MORE Act would:

• require the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees
• establish an Opportunity Trust Fund offering three grant programs for disadvantaged individuals and those most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs
• allow Small Business Administration funding for legitimate cannabis-related businesses and service providers
• remove marijuana from the list of deportable offenses
• require federal courts to expunge prior convictions and conduct re-sentencing hearings

Steps toward decriminalizing marijuana are long overdue said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in his opening remarks during the markup of the bill.

“For far too long, we have treated marijuana as a criminal justice problem instead of a matter of personal choice and public health,” said Nadler. “Whatever one’s views on the use of marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes, arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating users at the federal level is unwise and unjust. Federal action on this issue would follow growing recognition in the states that the status quo is unacceptable. Despite the federal government’s continuing criminalization of marijuana, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for adult recreational use.”