Federal legislation to deschedule marijuana and allow the expungement of past convictions has gained its 95th sponsor in the US House of Representatives.
Congressmember Jason Crow (D-CO) joined as an official cosponsor of the MORE (Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement) Act yesterday, bringing the bill’s total sponsors to 95.
The MORE Act, supported by Vice President Kamala Harris, would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, effectively decriminalizing it nationwide. The bill also establishes a federal excise tax on state-legal marijuana sales, starting at 5% and eventually increasing to a maximum of 8%. Additionally, it includes measures to expunge past marijuana convictions and protect users from being denied public benefits.
In the Senate, the similar Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) has 18 sponsors. The CAOA directs the U.S. Attorney General to establish regulations to deschedule marijuana within 180 days of its passage. It also proposes a federal excise tax starting at 5% on marijuana producers, rising to 12.5% by the fifth year. The measure would go further than the MORE Act by establishing federal safety and regulatory standards for licensed marijuana sales, including establishing the Center for Cannabis Products within the FDA to oversee the cannabis industry’s production, labeling, distribution, and sales.
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