Despite numerous polls from various polling organizations showing an increasing desire of a majority of Americans to legalize cannabis, House Banana Republicans have run away from The People’s will and desire to continue to exact increasingly costly tolls upon taxpayers burdened by incarcerating its consumers.
Pew Research Centers latest findings on Americans’ attitudes toward cannabis show that “an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (91%) say marijuana should be legal either for medical and recreational use (59%) or that it should be legal just for medical use (32%),” and that “fewer than one-in-ten (8%) prefer to keep marijuana illegal in all circumstances.”
Gallup Polling most recently found similar figures.
“The 68% of U.S. adults who currently back the measure is not statistically different from last year’s 66%; however, it is nominally Gallup’s highest reading, exceeding the 64% to 66% range seen from 2017 to 2019,” they wrote on November 9, 2020.
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized the plant for recreational purposes, while 36 states – plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – have legalized the drug for medical purposes.
Cannabis, also commonly known as “marijuana,” remains illegal under U.S. federal law.
H.R.3884 Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 or the MORE Act of 2019 (“To decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes.”) was introduced by Jerrold Nadler (D, NY-10), had 120 cosponsors, passed through 8 committees: House – Judiciary; Energy and Commerce; Agriculture; Education and Labor; Ways and Means; Small Business; Natural Resources; Oversight and Reform.
Roll Call Number 235 on Roll Call 235, Bill Number: H. R. 3884, was held Friday, December 04, 2020, 01:08 PM EST, in the 116th Congress, 2nd Session.
The votes were:
Yea: 228
Nay: 164
Present: 0
Not Voting: 38
Status: Passed
Roll Call 235, Bill Number: H. R. 3884
| Party | Yeas | Nays | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 222 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Republican | 5 | 158 | 0 | 34 |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 228 | 164 | 0 | 38 |
This bill decriminalizes marijuana.
Specifically, it 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.
The bill also makes other changes, including the following:
-
- replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis,
- requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,
- establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,
- imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund,
- makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers,
- prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,
- prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction),
- establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses, and
- directs the Government Accountability Office to study the societal impact of cannabis legalization.
WashingtonPost.com
House Votes To Decriminalize Marijuana As GOP Resists National Shift On Pot
by Mike DeBonis
December 4, 2020 at 2:34 p.m. EST
The measure is not expected to pass into law, and, due to political skittishness, it was only voted on after the November election and more than a year after it emerged from committee. But the House took a stand at a moment of increasing momentum, with voters last month opting to liberalize marijuana laws in five states — including three that President Trump won handily.
Friday’s vote, however, was largely along party lines, with Read the rest of this entry »
