Cannabis advocates have a reason to rejoice this Friday with federal legislation moving forward to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level, which would change everything. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, or H.R. 3617, in a floor vote Friday. It’s the second time the House approved the bill as the historic piece of legislation makes its way to the Senate.
The MORE Act was approved April 1 on a mostly party-line 220-204 vote. A previous version of the bill was approved in December 2020—also on a mostly party-line vote—which was the first comprehensive cannabis policy reform legislation to receive a floor vote or be approved by either chamber of Congress.
The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, allowing states to legalize cannabis markets without fear of federal interference. It would include provisions for the expungement or resentencing of people with nonviolent federal cannabis convictions.
It would also promote diversity in the cannabis industry at the state level, and help repair the disproportionate harms caused by America’s War on Drugs. According to a recent Congressional Budget Office analysis, the Act, if passed, would increase tax revenues by over $8 billion over a 10-year period and would also drastically reduce federal prison costs.
High Times obtained several statements from leadership of national cannabis organizations.
“At a time when the majority of states regulate marijuana use and when the majority of voters of all political ideologies support legalization, it makes no sense from a political, fiscal, or cultural perspective for federal lawmakers to continue to support the ‘flat Earth’ failed federal prohibitionist policies of the past,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano told High TImes.