The House of Representatives voted today in favor of a historic piece of legislation to decriminalize marijuana.
What We Know:
- In an effort to reverse the harmful effects of the ‘war on drugs,’ a government-led initiative that sought to stop the use of illegal drugs that disproportionately targeted low-income communities of color, the House voted today to decriminalize marijuana and expunge nonviolent marijuana-related convictions.
- The bill is being called the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or the MORE Act. The bill includes an expansive federal plan for repairing the racial disparities in the criminal justice system caused by the war on drugs.
- The 228-164 vote would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act. As a result, it would authorize a 5 percent tax on legalized marijuana that would fund community and small business programs to help those most impacted by the drug’s criminalization.
- According to the New York Times, this is the first time either chamber of Congress has voted in favor of the legalization of cannabis. Unfortunately, however, the bill is not expected to pass the Republican-dominated Senate.
Although the feat is mostly symbolic of an effort to address racial injustice, the Democrats could vote on a similar bill in Congress next year.
