United States: Congress to vote on federal cannabis legalization next month

Less than a week after five new U.S. states have approved the legalization of cannabis In one form or another, a senior leader of the U.S. House of Representatives has announced that the House will hold a vote next month on a bill to end the federal ban on cannabis.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had announced this summer that the House would vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act (MORE Act) in September, but that plan has been postponed following the refusal of some Democrats who were concerned about moving forward with cannabis reform before passing another coronavirus relief package.

Steny Hoyer confirmed Monday that cannabis legalization was still on the table ahead of the presidential transition and would be put to a vote in December. This could also increase pressure on Biden to support legalization, a policy he refused to adopt despite the support of the majority of Democratic voters.

The MORE Act, whose primary sponsor is Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, would decriminalize cannabis at the federal level, officially allowing states to legalize it, would expunge the criminal records of those previously convicted of cannabis offenses, and would impose a 5% federal tax on sales, with the revenue reinvested in the communities most affected by the war on drugs.

The bill would also create a review process for people incarcerated for cannabis-related offenses, protect immigrants from being denied citizenship because of cannabis use, and prevent federal agencies from denying public benefits or security clearances based on cannabis use.

He has has passed several milestones since its introduction and is awaiting a vote in Congress. If the bill passes the Democratic-controlled House, it is currently unlikely that the Senate will follow suit. A symbolic vote in favor of legalization would nonetheless send a strong signal to the new Biden administration.