House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jerrold Nadler, during the hearing about the MORE Act.
For the first time in history, a congressional vote approved a bill that would end the federal prohibition of marijuana. The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act (The MORE Act), which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in August, passed the chamber’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 10, by a 24-10 vote. “The MORE Act will now be sent to the full House of Representatives. This is a historic moment in the decades long campaign to end marijuana prohibition at the federal level,” the Marijuana Policy Project announced.
Although surveys found that most Americans believe Congress is too distracted by the ongoing impeachment process to work on legislation (a sentiment the Republican Party and Donald Trump largely fostered), congressional Democrats are proving them wrong. Congress officially launched what Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) appropriately dubbed the “War on the War on Drugs.”
“For the first time, a congressional committee has approved far-reaching legislation to not just put an end to federal marijuana prohibition but to address the countless harms our prohibitionist policies have wrought—notably on communities of color and other already marginalized groups,” stated Erik Altieri, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the largest pro-marijuana activist group in the country.The MORE Act, which is sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) in the House and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in the U.S. Senate, was already hailed as “the most comprehensive marijuana reform bill ever introduced in Congress” back in August. Not only does it plan to entirely remove all mention of cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act—which would de facto decriminalize cannabis federally and allow states to regulate it—it also plans an excise tax on the sale of cannabis products to fund social justice initiatives; in particular, to support and uphold communities of color that were most heavily impacted by the War on Drugs.
The MORE Act attempts on a federal level what parts of the country have already achieved on a smaller scale, most notably in California and Illinois, by mending some of the wounds decades of prohibition created. Most importantly, the bill includes the expungement of numerous cannabis offenses, such as those for juvenile delinquency, as well as ensuring that no person shall be denied federal benefits on the basis of cannabis-related offenses.
The MORE Act can still be halted by other committees, but if it reaches the House of Representatives, the bill could benefit from an overwhelming popularity among voters and democratic representatives. Buzzfeed News reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supports the legislation, which has gathered 57 co-sponsors in the House. A vote in the Republican-controlled Senate seems to be the only significant roadblock to the full legalization of marijuana on the federal level.
Congress Divided Along Party Lines
Although the bill is presented as bipartisan, there is an obvious division between Democrats and Republicans on the issue. With the exceptions of Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), the former being the sole Republican co-sponsor of the House bill, all Republican members of the committee voted no or abstained; all the voting Democrats voted yes.
Even in the arguments presented in front of the House Judiciary Committee, the Republican-Democratic dichotomy appeared obvious. While the Democratic representatives presented a litany of strong points, such as the fact that America’s prison population jumped from 350,000 people to 2.2 million in the wake of the War on Drugs—disproportionately people of color—Republicans systematically attempted to oppose or stall the bill.
“This bill has never been discussed except in broad, sweeping strokes,” Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) said in an impassioned argument that Congress should act more slowly with marijuana reform. “Going forward, if we’re to make real change in marijuana policy, we’ve got to actually have a discussion. Because, for 80+ years, the American public has been told one thing about marijuana: bad. It’s hard to change opinions and minds over a simple bill!” To which Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) replied that “there are a lot of people across this country who have understood this issue for a very long time. Some because their state has moved in that direction and some because our communities have suffered from the consequences of the failed War on Drugs. Our job in Congress is to make the case as we bring the bill forward.”
The sentiment was echoed by numerous Democrats in attendance, who presented a united front. “It is surprising to hear some of our colleagues say that we should be having more hearings about this. When the GOP was in control of this committee in the last session, there were no hearings about this,” testified Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). “I remember working very hard to demand hearings, but no hearings were forthcoming. The time for inaction is over, the time for excuses is over. On the other side, we only get naysaying, ‘nothing can happen, nothing can work’ obstructionism at every turn.”
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) added, “If we didn’t have this bill scheduled, [Republicans] would say, ‘Because of impeachment, the Democrats aren’t working on bills.’ But we have a hearing on a bill, and they say, ‘You shouldn’t have this hearing.’”
