U.S. House Committee to Vote on Ending Federal Cannabis Prohibition

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he House Judiciary Committee posted a mark up for HR 3884/S.2227, or the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act on Nov. 20th. Marijuana Moment reports that the House Judiciary Committee said last Monday that the panel will mark up the bill on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The legislation, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and appropriate funding to begin repairing some of the damage caused by the “War on Drugs,” especially people from disadvantaged communities. The MORE Act is sponsored by Sen. Kamala D. Harris in the Senate as S.2227, representing bipartisan legislation would remove cannabis from the CSA.

Leaders from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) highlighted the importance of this particular bill. “The American people are overwhelmingly on our side and ready to end our failed prohibitionist policies and lately more and more elected officials are joining them,” said Erik Altieri NORML executive director in an email release. “However, we NEED your help to get this legislation approved. We cannot allow this opportunity to pass us by, we need to show members of Congress that their constituents are demanding real change.”

Non-violent cannabis consumers whose livelihoods are affected by blights on their permanent records will have the chance at a clean slate. #NORML in @Forbes https://t.co/bNr8aeNTmn

— NORML (@NORML) November 18, 2019

The bill would also allow physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration to make medical cannabis recommendations to veterans who qualify and live in legal states. It’s among the more far-reaching federal cannabis reform bills to makes its way through the legislature.

Some activists wonder if a more conservative approach would fare better in the Republican-controlled Senate. The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act, for instance, would not deschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act and it doesn’t include social equity measures.

NORML’s website features a form to ask your local congressperson to support the MORE Act and cannabis reform at the federal level.