WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives will hold a floor vote on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act this week, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. The vote will take place between Wednesday, December 2 and Friday, December 4.
If enacted as currently written, the MORE Act would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act‘s list of harmful narcotics; eliminate criminal penalties for manufacturing, distribution, and possession; expunge low-level marijuana convictions; and impose a 5 percent federal sales tax.
The bill also would establish a Cannabis Justice Office within the Office of Justice Programs. The office would oversee various funds and grants intended to support individuals most adversely impacted by the war on drugs, including an “Opportunity Trust Fund” and a “Community Reinvestment Grant Program.”
“This floor vote represents the first Congressional roll call ever on the question of ending federal marijuana criminalization,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. “By advancing the MORE Act, the House of Representatives sends an unmistakable signal that America is ready to close the book marijuana prohibition and end the senseless oppression and fear that this failed policy wreaks on otherwise law-abiding citizens.”