This month the U.S. House will be voting on legislation to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act as well as to erase some marijuana criminal records.
While the bill will not legalize marijuana, it will be a historical move towards reducing the legal penalties that are connected with the drug. It will be left up to the states to legalize the drug or not. Marijuana is already legal in 11 states.
According to an e-mail to members from House Majority Whip James Clyburn, the vote will take place during the September work period but no date has been set. According to statements from leading Democrats, the vote on the Marijuana
Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act will be around Sept. 21st.
Currently marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
The bill, which was introduced by House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler last fall, will also expunge criminal records and provide grant funding for people who have been negatively impacted by enforcement of marijuana laws.
“It’s the first-ever comprehensive marijuana legalization bill to ever be considered for a full House floor vote,” said Queen Adesuyi, national affairs policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance.
“It will be interesting to see if this historic vote draws more attention to marijuana legalization as the election approaches,” said Sam D’Arcangelo, Director of
HeadCount’s Cannabis Voter Project. “After all, most of the people who will cast a vote on this bill are up for re-election in November. Now they have to take a clear position on this issue whether they like it or not.”
“This is a big deal, no two ways around it,” said Justin Strekal, national political director of NORML. “We’re living in the moment that the history books will regard as the first federal vote to end marijuana prohibition.”
“Passage of The MORE Act is essential in order to truly right the wrongs of federal marijuana criminalization,” said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano, “and to once and for all allow the majority of states that have legalized cannabis for either medical or adult-use to embrace these policies free from the threat of undue federal prosecution or interference.”
