 The United States House of Representatives has passed the MORE Act, which stands for Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement.
This is the second time that the MORE Act has made it past Congress and onto the Senate Floor. The first time, in December of 2020, the bill did not pass the Senate. Experts agree that this time it’s also not likely to get the majority support needed to pass into law. The act would need support of all 50 Democratic senators, and at least 10 Republicans to approve it, and currently only three Republican Senators are backing it. While the MORE Act is likely not to pass the Senate vote this time, there are still other options available for legalization this year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has stated he will be introducing his own federal cannabis bill this month. His bill is called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). The measure would deschedulize marijuana from the controlled substances list, and allow states to determine their own cannabis laws, in the same way that alcohol is federally regulated. With the Senate Majority leader behind this bill, it’s probable to have more support when it comes to vote. Another option for federal legalization is the SAFE Banking Act, which stands for Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking. This is a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO). Currently the SAFE Banking Act is attached to a separate manufacturing and innovation bill called the America COMPETES Act. That measure is now headed to a committee for review. Perlmutter has repeatedly voiced his unwavering enthusiasm for the bill and has said he will do whatever he needs to do to get it passed. While it would be preferred to have the SAFE Banking Act be a standalone bill, Perlmutter has said that he planned to offer the SAFE Banking Act as an amendment to “every single bill I possibly can until it’s passed.” Another option to federally legalize cannabis could be through the courts. Texas-based attorney Matthew Zorn tried to force the DEA to hold a hearing on rescheduling marijuana but lost on a technicality. He believes though, that “It could totally be done in the courts.” He believes that if another case follows a similar path to his, but didn’t lose on a technicality as his did, that cannabis could be deschedulized in the courts, thereby legalizing it. There are also several smaller, incremental cannabis measures which could propel the country quicker to legalization. These include the Medical Marijuana Research Act, which is a bipartisan bill currently before congress, or The HOPE Act which would provide funding to states in order to expunge cannabis offenses. One more option is The Veterans Equal Access Act of 2021 which would allow Veterans Administration doctors to provide medical marijuana recommendations to its clients. All of these bills, while not providing full legalization, would open the door to bills fully legalizing cannabis. The reality is that it is not so much a matter of if cannabis will be legalized, just when. Comments are closed.
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