Breaking: United States House of Representatives Passes Bill to Federally Decriminalize Marijuana
April 1, 2022 — While it may seem like a typical April Fool’s blog post, this is, in fact, not a drill, folks!
Today by a vote of 220 – 204 the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 3617, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (the “MORE Act”) with three Republicans joining all but two voting Democrats to vote “yes.”
If passed by the Senate and not vetoed by President Biden, the MORE Act would effectively legalize marijuana throughout the United States by removing it from the list of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and ending criminal penalties for growing, distributing, and possessing marijuana. The MORE Act would also provide for the expungement of federal marijuana convictions and for the taxation of marijuana sales.
While the prospects of federal legalization are thrilling and long overdue, analysts do not have high hopes that the MORE Act will get the 60 Senate votes it needs to pass the Senate. Regardless, let’s cross our fingers that the Senate comes to their senses and votes to legalize marijuana once and for all!