The US House passed a bill that decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level and removes it from the list of prohibited controlled substances.
Yesterday, April 1, the United States House of Representatives passed the More Act (Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement), with 220 votes in favor and 204 against.
The bill, presented by the Democrat Jerrold Nadler, decriminalizes cannabis at the federal level, removes it from Schedule I of illicit substances and eliminates past convictions related to this plant, while leaving legalization up to individual states.
During his opening statement, Nadler emphasized that the bill, if signed into law, would reverse decades of injustice committed against Americans, especially those in the black community.
"Regardless of one's views on the use of marijuana recreationally or medicinally, the policy of arrest, prosecution, and incarceration at the federal level has proven unwise and unfair" said Nadler - "For too long we have treated marijuana as a criminal justice issue, rather than a matter of personal choice and public health."
Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, said the 91% of Americans he wants some form of cannabis to be legal and that there are more important priorities that cops should be focusing on. “Law enforcement can’t afford to go after petty pot crooks when violent crime is on the rise across the nation” – and continues – “The war on marijuana is an expensive relic of the past".
“I've been a supporter of the war on drugs — I've been here a long time,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Friday, noting that Black Americans have four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis-related crimes. “This bill is about justice and equal opportunity so that Americans and America can become a better America, stronger, fairer and more just".
Although the vast majority of Americans are in favor of the legal marijuana, there were many opponents in the House.
Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Oregon, said the More Act is a "bad and incomplete bill". Bentz said legalization has been a disaster for Oregon, explaining that drug cartels are stealing water and threatening locals.
“This bill will increase the demand for marijuana and it will increase the cartels in the United States" - “If you're going to do it, do it right.”
In response, Nadler said, “You approve of this bill and the signs they will no longer have a monopoly".
Ultimately, the biggest fight over the More Act is in the Senate. The last time the House passed the bill, the Senate did not vote for it. Furthermore, cThere are also competing bills within the House.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden are planning to present formally their long-awaited federal bill on decriminalization, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.
In any case, the country that invented and exported the war on drugs throughout the world is the same one that is fighting to raze the wall of prohibition to the ground.
