A bill in the US House of Representatives aimed at descheduling marijuana and facilitating expungements has recently secured its 88th sponsor.
The legislation, known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, proposes to eliminate marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances, effectively decriminalizing it across the nation. Congressmember Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) added his support as a cosponsor on May 5, increasing the total sponsorship to 88 since its introduction with 34 original sponsors.
The MORE Act also introduces a federal excise tax of 5% on legal marijuana sales in the initial two years, which is set to rise to 8% in the fifth year. Furthermore, it provides for the expungement of previous marijuana convictions and ensures that marijuana users are not denied public benefits.
Representative Nadler has touted the MORE Act as “one of the most thorough cannabis reform initiatives to ever be presented in the U.S. Congress.” He emphasized its goal to amend the long-standing injustices caused by ineffective drug policies that have disproportionately affected communities of color and economically disadvantaged groups, through measures like resentencing and clearing prior convictions.
For the full text of the MORE Act, you can click here.
While the MORE Act would deschedule marijuana entirely, the DEA recently announced that they will be moving marijuana to Schedule III. Although this will not decriminalize or legalize marijuana for recreational use, it will legalize the plant for prescription use.
