On May 28, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 
The bill – which would completely deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act – addresses the lifelong consequences of marijuana criminalization, reinvests in communities that have borne the brunt of prohibition, and takes steps to ensure an equitable and diverse marketplace. The MORE Act is supported by civil rights groups, public health professionals, law enforcement, directly-impacted people, and state and local marijuana regulators from across the country.
 
DPA has worked tirelessly to move the MORE Act forward since its inception, by working with House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and then-Senator Kamala Harris to draft and introduce the legislation last session, creating the Marijuana Justice Coalition to build widespread support, and pushing for an initial Judiciary Committee mark-up amid a busy impeachment trial.
 
In December 2020, the MORE Act made history when it became the first piece of comprehensive marijuana reform legislation that actually deschedules marijuana – and the only one centered in reparative justice – to pass either chamber of Congress. While the version that passed the House last year ended up including language that excluded some directly-impacted people from being able to fully participate in the industry at the federal level, this language was removed from the version that was reintroduced last week.
 
“With the majority of Americans in favor of marijuana legalization for adult use, and the way in which communities of color have been devastated by prohibition finally being widely acknowledged, prioritizing marijuana reform that begins to undo this harm and give back to those communities should be a no-brainer,” said Queen Adesuyi, policy manager for DPA’s Office of National Affairs.
 
“We are grateful that not only was this bill reintroduced so early in the session, but that the exclusionary language that ended up getting added in through the political process last year was removed. This bill is meant to comprehensively address the widespread harms of prohibition, and it is impossible to do that if we are still leaving those that have already paid the steepest price out. We urge House Leadership to bring this bill to the floor without delay.”