United States: House of Representatives votes for federal legalization of cannabis

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill last Friday to legalize cannabis a at the federal level.

The bill was approved by 228 votes to 164, with 5 Republicans supporting the reform and 6 Democrats opposing it.

The MORE Act or the federal legalization of cannabis

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Deregistration Act (MORE Act) would remove cannabis from federal controlled substances.

As currently structured, the MORE Act would see cannabis taxed federally at 5% for the first two years after implementation, then increased by 1% each year until reaching 8%. After five years, taxes would be applied to cannabis products based on weight rather than price.

The bill would also open up reconsideration opportunities for those incarcerated for cannabis-related offenses, protect immigrants from being denied citizenship for cannabis, and prevent federal agencies from denying public benefits or security clearances because of its use.

A new Office of Cannabis Justice under the Department of Justice would be responsible for distributing funds providing loans to small cannabis businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged people. The bill also aims to minimize barriers to licensing and employment in the legal sector.

It would also establish a community reinvestment grant program. Taxpayers' money earmarked for this program would go towards job training, legal aid for criminal and civil cases such as those involving cannabis-related amnesties, literacy programs or recreation and mentoring services for young people, among other things.

What's next?

After this vote in favor of legalization in the House, the text must pass before a Republican-controlled Senate at least until early January. The vice-president-elect Kamala Harris is the main sponsor of the complementary version of the bill in the Senate.

The historic nature of a vote in favor of federal legalization of cannabis should not be overlooked. While the House has twice before approved amendments to protect state cannabis laws from federal interference, amendments subsequently unsuccessful in the Senate, never before has legislation to formally remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act been proposed at this level.

Prior to the bill's passage, much of the debate centered on the argument that reform would help right the wrongs of a racist war on drugs. Republicans, on the other hand, argued that legalization would cause harm to children and public safety, and that now was not the right time to consider the issue.

«In our country, thousands of men and women have suffered needlessly from the federal criminalization of cannabis, particularly in communities of color, and have borne the burden of collateral consequences for those trapped in criminal legal systems that have damaged our society across generations,» said Representative Sheila Jackson Lee in her opening remarks. «This is unacceptable and we must change our laws. It's time for Congress to catch up with the reforms that states are enacting.»

1. Removes marijuana, or cannabis, from the list-or the schedule-of Federally controlled substances.

- Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) December 4, 2020

Representative Matt Gaetz, the bill's only Republican sponsor, said that while he believes the bill is «flawed,» he's voting for it «because the federal government has lied to the people of this country about cannabis for a generation.»

«We've seen a generation, particularly of young black people, locked up for offenses that shouldn't have resulted in any incarceration at all,» he said.

The federal government has lied to the people of this country about marijuana for a generation.

I'm voting for the MORE Act. pic.twitter.com/suH497s54Y

- Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) December 4, 2020

Representative Earl Blumenauer, one of the co-chairs of the Cannabis Caucus and a longtime advocate of cannabis reform, gave an impassioned speech in favor of the bill.

Today, the House takes a major step forward in ending the failed war on drugs.#EndCannabisProhibition

- Earl Blumenauer (@repblumenauer) December 4, 2020

«We're not rushing to legalize cannabis,» he said. «The American people are ready to do it. We're here because Congress has failed to confront the disastrous war on drugs and do its job for the more than 50 million regular cannabis users [who live] in every one of your districts.»

«It's time for Congress to step in and do its job,» he declared. «We need to catch up with the rest of the American people.»