The US House of Representatives voted to pass a bill on Friday to decriminalize the use of marijuana at the federal level.
The House bill called the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana, as reported to the House.
The bill was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York.
According to Nadler’s social media posts, “this bill will reverse decades of failed federal policies based on the criminalization of marijuana.”
HAPPENING TODAY: The House is considering my bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. This bill will reverse decades of failed federal policies based on the criminalization of marijuana. https://t.co/dqsioIx6T3
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) April 1, 2022
“It also take steps to address the heavy toll these policies have taken across the country, particularly among communities of color. For far too long, we have treated marijuana as a criminal justice problem instead of as a matter of personal choice and public health,” Nadler claimed.
“The bill sets a new path forward and would begin to correct some of the injustices of the last 50 years,” he added.
The bill sets a new path forward and would begin to correct some of the injustices of the last 50 years. The bill decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level, removing it from the Controlled Substances Act. This change applies retroactively to prior and pending convictions.
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) April 1, 2022
The House passed the legislation with 220 to 204 votes. Three Republicans joined the majority of Democrats including Tom McClintock of California, Florida representatives Brian Mast and Matt Gaetz, while Democrats Henry Cuellar of Texas and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire voted against it, CNN reported.
Nancy Pelosi said during her weekly news conference on Thursday, that the legislation is “consistent with what is happening in many states across the country.”
“It also addresses the injustices of it because of what penalties had been before some of these, this decriminalization took place,” Pelosi said. “So I’m all for it.”
It can be recalled that the ousted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana.
“This is a historic day in New York — one that rights the wrongs of the past by putting an end to harsh prison sentences, embraces an industry that will grow the Empire State’s economy, and prioritizes marginalized communities so those that have suffered the most will be the first to reap the benefits,” Cuomo said in a statement.
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