Aside from full legalization, which may not have enough support to overcome Senate filibuster, there has been bipartisan support from this Congress for a bill that would grant federal protection to banks working with marijuana companies in states that have taken steps to legalize the drug. An important note is that the MORE Act does not legalize cannabis, this would still be left to the states (similar to how alcohol is regulated by the state). The MORE Act decriminalizes it simply by ending the federal ban (removing it from the list of state-controlled substances) and removing the associated federal penalties. The MORE Act would also remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), pave the way for the elimination of cannabis-related arrests and convictions at the federal level, and require the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly release demographic data on cannabis contractors and employees. In August 2020, Vanita Gupta, on behalf of a long list of civil rights and drug policy activists, sent a letter to Democratic congressional leaders calling for a vote on the law. The letter states: “Given the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and a growing national dialogue on unfair law enforcement practices, marijuana reform is more relevant and urgent than ever as a modest first step toward ending the war on drugs. [30] [31] The bill was passed by the House Judiciary Committee on November 20, 2019 by a majority of 24 to 10. [8] [9] Only two Republicans voted for it. [5] This was the first time in history that a congressional committee passed a bill to end federal marijuana prohibition. [10] [11] The bill was scheduled for January 15, 2020 for a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee`s Subcommittee on Health entitled “Cannabis Policies for the New Decade.” [12] [13] The MORE Act is one of many cannabis reform bills considered by Congress.
The legislation is supported by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). Senate leaders are preparing to introduce a separate bill with similar objectives. Serious reform of the criminal justice system cannot begin in our country without ending the war on cannabis. The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, which is central to its harmful status in federal law, and provide essential restorative justice provisions to repair decades of harm caused by prohibition. The Opportunity Trust Fund would share their tax revenues: 50% would support a community reinvestment grant program, 10% would support drug treatment programs, and 40% would go to the Federal Small Business Administration to support implementation and a newly created fair licensing grant program. The Community Reinvestment Grant Program would provide funding to eligible entities to manage services to those negatively affected by the war on drugs. Some of these services include vocational training, reintegration services, civil and criminal legal assistance (including the elimination of cannabis convictions), literacy programs, recreational or mentoring programs for adolescents, and health education programs. On Friday, May 28, 2021, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Radiungement (MORE) Act in the U.S.
House of Representatives. If passed, the legislation would end the federal government`s prohibition of cannabis. The House of Representatives had already passed the MORE bill in December 2020, but the bill did not make progress in the Senate. Here`s a breakdown of some of the most important provisions of the measure, what`s going on, and what you can do to help. The Senate left Washington for the campaign season without responding to legislation that would end the federal marijuana ban, leaving behind what a new Morning Consult/Politico poll leaves on the table as a popular policy proposal ahead of the midterm elections. The bill also includes other changes, including the following: After the November 2020 election, Hoyer announced that the bill would be put to a vote in December. [16] After a debate in the House of Representatives on December 3, a vote was scheduled for December 4,[17] when the bill passed by a majority of 228 to 164, mostly along party lines, which was the first time a house of Congress passed a bill to end marijuana prohibition at the federal level. [18] The MORE Act would also ensure that the federal government could not discriminate against people for cannabis use. It would protect people from the loss of benefits earned due to cannabis use or protect immigrants at risk of deportation. The bill would also open the door to research.
Since cannabis is still technically illegal at the federal level, it is still technically illegal to conduct research on cannabis for medical purposes. There are many scientific articles on the medical benefits of cannabis, ranging from cancer treatments to mental health aids to dermatological use cases. On June 1, 2021, Amazon`s CEO announced the company`s support for the law and that it would no longer test non-transportation workers for cannabis use. [32] Amazon also announced that it would use its “public policy team” (lobbying resources) to support the bill. [33] The 4. In June, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights issued a letter calling on Congress to pass the law. [34] Finally, the decriminalization of cannabis would allow cannabis suppliers to adopt safer business practices and participate in government-regulated commercial activities. One of the main goals here is that cannabis-related businesses would finally be able to use state-mandated banks as normal businesses, rather than having to pay a premium for banking services at some banks that offer cannabis programs. According to Reuters, only 7% of banks and 3% of credit unions offer a cannabis program, and some charge 400 times more for a cannabis business account than their regular business bank accounts. The Senate is preparing its own law to legalize cannabis, called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. A draft discussion was published in July 2021 and an updated draft law is expected to be published before the August break. The prospects of passing this bill will depend on Republican support.
Due to reduced law enforcement activities and prison costs related to marijuana-related crimes, the law would reduce federal spending by hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the New York Times.