Legislation to fully deschedule marijuana was filed in the US House of Representatives in September, the same month as the “Stop Pot Act” to withhold federal funds from legal marijuana states. Nearly half a year later, one of the bills has drastically more support than the other.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would decriminalize marijuana nationwide by removing marijuana as a controlled substance, while also allowing past marijuana possession charges to be expunged (removed) from people’s records. Filed in September with five sponsors, the measure currently has 83. The only other marijuana-related bill with more sponsors is the SAFE Banking Act.
The Stop Pot Act, also filed in September, would withhold federal highway funds from states and tribes that violate the federal Controlled Substances Act, which currently considers marijuana a Schedule 1 drug making it illegal for all purposes. Although the Stop Pot Act has more sponsors than any other piece of anti-marijuana legislation currently active in the US Congress, it only has five (16 times less than the MORE Act).
You can find the full text of the MORE Act by clicking here. You can find the full text of the Stop Pot Act by clicking here.
According to two separate polls released last year, 64% of adults in the United States support marijuana being legalized for recreational use.
Currently the DEA is conducting a review on whether or not marijuana should be rescheduled to Schedule III, legalizing it for prescription use nationwide.
