It is finally here. The moment that marijuana enthusiasts and proponents have been waiting a long time for.
The U.S. House of Representatives will be voting for the very first time on a bill to federally legalize marijuana.
According to a top Democratic leader in the chamber, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the chamber will take up the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act some time between Wednesday and Friday of next week.
The bill is first expected to go before the House Rules Committee earlier in the week which prepares legislation for floor action and decides which amendments can be made in order for consideration by the full body.
“I’ve been working on this issue longer than any politician in America and can confidently say that the MORE Act is the most comprehensive federal cannabis reform legislation in U.S. history,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).
“Our vote to pass it next week will come after people in five very different states reaffirmed the strong bipartisan support to reform the failed cannabis prohibition.
National support for federal cannabis legalization is at an all-time high and almost 99 percent of Americans will soon live in states with some form of legal cannabis,” he added.
“Congress must capitalize on this momentum and do our part to end the failed policy of prohibition that has resulted in a long and shameful period of selective enforcement against communities of color,” he said.
The MORE Act, whose lead sponsor is Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would federally deschedule cannabis as well as expunge the records of those with prior marijuana convictions and impose a federal five percent tax on sales, revenue from which would be reinvested in communities most impacted by the drug war.
“This floor vote represents the first congressional roll call ever on the question of ending federal marijuana criminalization,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal to Marijuana Moment. “By advancing the MORE Act, the House of Representatives sends an unmistakable signal that America is ready to close the book marijuana prohibition and end the senseless oppression and fear that this failed policy wreaks on otherwise law-abiding citizens.”
“Americans are ready to responsibly legalize and regulate marijuana, and this vote shows some lawmakers are finally listening,” he remarked.
