United States: Cannabis legalization reintroduced in Congress

A bill to legalize cannabis in the US and promote social equity in the sector was reintroduced in the House of Representatives last Friday.

The legislation, sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, was filed with a number of changes compared with the version approved by the House last year.

The bill, which would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, the Controlled Substances Act, The bill would allow people convicted of cannabis offenses to have their criminal records expunged, and would create a federal cannabis tax whose revenues would be earmarked for community reinvestment and other programs. At the same time, US Senators are preparing to introduce a separate reform proposal with similar aims.

Legalizing cannabis in the United States

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, the legislation in question, has already passed the House of Representatives last year but has made no progress in the GOP-controlled Senate. But this time, activists are optimistic that legalization could pass. now that the Democrats run both chambers and the White House, and as more and more states prepare to legalize cannabis.

«Since I introduced the MORE Act in the last Congress, many of the nation's states, including my home state of New York, have decided to legalize marijuana. Our federal laws must keep pace,» said Nadler. «I am proud to reintroduce the MORE Act to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, remove the unnecessary burden of marijuana convictions for so many Americans and invest in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.»

The #MOREAct is one of the most comprehensive marijuana reform bills ever introduced in Congress. We reintroduced it today so it can be brought to President Biden's desk and signed into law. pic.twitter.com/lFWXHWBUet

- Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) May 28, 2021

The new version of the MORE Act is intended to be more inclusive. Some amendments, such as the one that would have prevented people with previous cannabis convictions from obtaining federal licenses to operate cannabis businesses, have been deleted, while others, such as the extension of the Small Business Administration (SBA) (loans, financial literacy programs and vocational training) have been added to better help people who have been harmed by the war on drugs to seize business opportunities in any sector, not just cannabis.

Several legalization initiatives

On the Chamber side, a bill to protect banks which provide services to state-legal cannabis businesses against penalties from federal regulators has already been approved this session. The House approved cannabis banking legislation three times in the last Congress, before seeing it die each time in the then Republican-controlled Senate.

In addition, there is a proposal to downgrade cannabis at the federal level, which does not include social equity elements, has recently been filed by 2 Republican members of Congress.

«Last year, we saw more progress toward cannabis legalization than ever before. This was driven by unprecedented reforms at the state level,» said Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer. «Now, Congress must confront the problems created by the failed federal policy of prohibition. With a solid base of support in the House and Senate, the table is set. It's high time we ended federal interference with cannabis banking and research, as well as the terrible selective enforcement scheme that has devastated communities of color. The MORE Act will help solve all these problems and more.».

Democratic Representative Barbara Lee said that «over the past year, people across the country have seen how injustice impacts communities of color - from police brutality to the COVID-19 pandemic.»

«The war on drugs is no exception. We must bring justice to those most affected by America's racist and discriminatory cannabis laws,» she continued.