Democratic House Members Reintroduce Comprehensive Marijuana Legalization Bill [FEATURE]

The Capitol. Can marijuana legalization advance in a GOP-controlled Congress? Stay tuned.

Last Friday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), along with Cannabis Caucus Co-Chairs Dina Titus (NV-01) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and House Committee on Small Business Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a comprehensive marijuana legalization bill.

Its prospects are uncertain at best in a Republican-controlled Congress, but that is not stopping proponents from continuing to fight for marijuana reform.

The bill's purpose is "to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes," the text states.

"I am proud to reintroduce the MORE Act today," said Rep. Nadler. "As more states continue to legalize marijuana and public support increases, federal laws must catch up and reverse failed policies criminalizing marijuana. "It is long past time to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge marijuana convictions, and facilitate resentencing, while reinvesting in the communities most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs."

"As co-chair of the Cannabis Caucus, I am proud to support the reintroduction of the MORE Act, comprehensive legislation that is long overdue," said Rep. Titus. "It's time to modernize our laws to reflect the reality of cannabis use in the United States, recognize the legitimate industry that has emerged, and fully embrace the medical benefits of the plant. The federal government must catch up to the states, and this bill provides a framework to end the failed War on Drugs while supporting communities and businesses nationwide."

Passage of the MORE Act would end the discrepancy between federal pot prohibition and the increasingly relaxed attitude toward marijuana in the states. Some 24 states -- constituting more than half the US population -- and the District of Columbia have embraced adult-use legalization, and 40 states allow for the use of medical marijuana.

The bill would end federal marijuana prohibition by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and requiring federal courts to expunge prior convictions, allow prior offenders to seek expungement, and conduct resentencing hearings for those still incarcerated or on probation or parole.

The bill sets a 5 percent sales tax on marijuana and pot products, the proceeds of which will go into an Opportunity Trust Fund with three grant programs. The Community Investment Grant Program would provide services to those adversely impacted by the drug war, including job training, literacy programs, legal aid, re-entry services, and drug treatment. The Cannabis Opportunity Grant Program would provide loans for small marijuana businesses owned and controlled by disadvantaged people. And the Equitable Licensing Grant Program would fund grants to remove barriers to licensing and employment in the industry of people adversely impacted by the drug war.

The bill would also allow legal marijuana businesses and service providers to seek funding from the Small Business Administration and provide non-discrimination protections for personal use or possession, including prior convictions. That would end the denial of federal public benefits, including housing, based on past or present marijuana use or possession, as well as ending the resort to past marijuana convictions to deport immigrants.

"As Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, I understand how deeply the War on Drugs has devastated families and fueled racial disparities in arrests and incarceration without making us safer," said Rep. Omar, co-chair of the Cannabis Caucus. "The MORE Act will decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, clear records, and reinvest in the communities most harmed by these failed policies. In Minnesota we have already shown that legalization can deliver both fairness and economic opportunity. It is past time for the federal government to follow our lead and finally end the era of criminalization."

"For too long, communities of color have carried the weight of unfair marijuana laws that fueled incarceration and denied people opportunity," said Rep. Velazquez, ranking member of the House Small Business Committee. "The MORE Act is about justice, about giving people a second chance, and about making sure small businesses and workers in these communities can share in the benefits of legalization. I am proud to stand with my colleagues to reintroduce this bill and keep pushing for fairness and equity."

The bill has more than three dozen co-signers already, as well as the support of a broad coalition of civil rights, criminal justice, drug policy, and immigration groups. Among them are the American Civil Liberties Union, Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC), Center for American Progress, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Last Prisoner Project, the Minority Cannabis Business Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), among many others.

"Millions of Americans continue to suffer the consequences of the failed war on drugs -- harms that have disproportionately impacted communities of color and other marginalized groups. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act represents a critical step forward, not only by decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, but by offering meaningful pathways to justice through expungement and resentencing," said Akua Amaning, Director for Criminal Justice Reform at Center for American Progress. "Its provisions also prioritize reinvestment and economic opportunity for those most affected by decades of criminalization. We urge Congress to pass this long-overdue legislation and take a decisive step towards ensuring equity, justice, and opportunity for all Americans."

"We are proud to again endorse the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act. For decades, marijuana criminalization has disproportionately targeted people of color and low-income communities," said Maritza Perez Medina, Director of Federal Affairs of the Drug Policy Alliance. "This policy of marijuana criminalization has led to mass incarceration, family separation, deportation, and lost economic opportunities. As long as marijuana remains in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), it will remain federally criminalized, regardless of which schedule it is placed inIn addition to clearly and unambiguously descheduling marijuana, the MORE Act would address the vast social and economic harms caused by marijuana criminalization. Anything short of descheduling will continue to perpetuate the harms of federal marijuana criminalization, and we urge members of Congress who oppose these harms to cosponsor MORE."