Legislation to fully deschedule marijuana while allowing expungements has 82 sponsors in the House of Representatives, but its chances in the Republican controlled chamber are slim to none – for now.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act was filed in September with five sponsors. In the four months since being filed, 77 additional lawmakers have signed on as cosponsors, bringing the total to 82. This represents nearly 20% of the entire 435-member House of Representatives. However, all of the measure’s cosponsors are Democrats, providing a slim outlook in the near future in a chamber that’s controlled by Republicans.
This outlook could change by the end of the year, given every member of the House is up for reelection this November, and polling shows that there’s a reasonable chance the Democrats could take back majority control of the House of Representatives. If they were to do so, the sheer number of Democrats sponsoring the MORE Act indicate that it could be the primary vehicle for reforming marijuana laws, something many Democrat leaders have vowed to fight for.
In addition to completely removing marijuana as a federal controlled substance, decriminalizing it nationwide while allowing states to decide their own marijuana laws, the MORE Act would allow those previously charge with a nonviolent marijuana-related charge to have it expunged from their record.
A slightly different version of the MORE Act approved through the House of Representatives in 2021, but failed to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate. If the Democrats do take back the House, they will need to retain control of the Senate for it to truly matter.
If Democrats do take control of the House and keep the Senate, the MORE Act’s future becomes quite bright. In December Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said “cannabis reform” is one of the chamber’s top priorities, and he has repeatedly called on the federal government to not only deschedule marijuana but to fully legalize it.
Schumer would need 60 votes for it to pass the Senate, requiring at least some Republican support. That’s not out of the realm of possibility for a bill that doesn’t go as far as legalizing it nationwide and instead allows states to determine their own marijuana laws.
In September legislation to allow marijuana banking received approval by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, with bipartisan support, indicating at least some Republicans are willing to support pro-marijuana legislation.
Of course even if the MORE Act is passed by both the House and Senate, for it to become law President Biden would have to either sign it into law or allow it to become law without his signature.
Biden has long been an opponent of marijuana legalization, but his administration has also made some significant progress when it comes to marijuana laws, including signing the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act in December (the first standalone piece of marijuana legislation to ever be signed into law), and his Department of Health is calling for marijuana to be moved to Schedule III, which would legalize medical marijuana for prescription use.
None of these moves are near as impactful as descheduling marijuana completely, but if President Biden’s party were to push through the MORE Act with nearly unanimous support among those in the caucus, it doesn’t seem unreasonable that the president would be hesitant to veto it, and would at least allow it to become law without taking any action.
Representative Nadler, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, says the MORE Act is “one of the most comprehensive marijuana reform bills ever introduced in the U.S. Congress”. He says it “aims to correct the historical injustices of failed drug policies that have disproportionately impacted communities of color and low-income communities by requiring resentencing and expungement of prior convictions.”
You can find the full text of the MORE Act by clicking here.
For a look at the federal marijuana bills most likely to be passed by the House and Senate this year, click here. For a look at the six states most likely to legalize marijuana in 2024, click here.
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