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Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3884, the bipartisan Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2020, one of the most comprehensive marijuana reform bills ever introduced in the U.S. Congress. The MORE Act was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the companion bill in the Senate.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act aims to correct the historical injustices of failed drug policies that have disproportionately impacted communities of color and low-income communities by requiring resentencing and expungement of prior convictions. This will create new opportunities for individuals as they work to advance their careers, education, and overall quality of life. Immigrants will also benefit from the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, as they will no longer be subject to deportation or citizenship denial based on even a minor marijuana offense. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act also ensures that all benefits in the law are available to juvenile offenders.
The bill is supported by more than 130 organizations, including the NAACP, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, SEIU, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Drug Policy Alliance, ACLU, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, National Association of Social Workers, National Employment Law Project, National Organization for Women, Moms Rising, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Juvenile Justice Network, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, and Cannabis Trade Federation.
Here’s what some stakeholders are saying about the MORE Act:
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a broad coalition of more than 220 civil rights organizations: “The MORE Act is bipartisan legislation supported by the Marijuana Justice Coalition, of which The Leadership Conference is a part. Since first convening in 2018, the Marijuana Justice Coalition has worked tirelessly to advance the MORE Act – the most sweeping piece of marijuana reform ever considered by the U.S. Congress…Now more than ever, the MORE Act is needed to provide a meaningful step towards achieving racial and economic justice. Ending the federal criminalization of marijuana will begin to rectify the wrongs of our present criminal-legal system and lead the way towards a fundamental refocusing of our efforts to create genuine public safety on community-based, rather than criminalization-focused, policies. The MORE Act’s various provisions will alleviate public health and economic challenges arising from COVID-19 and provide critical investments in the communities that need them most. The Act’s provisions will also set us on a path toward future economic equity and success through its creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs and crucial new revenue generation for states and localities as their state marijuana regulatory programs flourish.”
Drug Policy Alliance: “The MORE Act addresses the collateral consequences of federal marijuana criminalization and takes steps to ensure the legal marketplace is diverse and inclusive. Last year in November 2019, the House Judiciary Committee made history when it passed the MORE Act, becoming the first Congressional body to vote favorably for a marijuana descheduling bill. Since then, the bill has amassed 120 House co-sponsors, including a strong contingent of House Leadership. This bill has also gained a wide range of support from various constituencies, including civil rights groups, individuals directly impacted by the criminal legal system, researchers, public health professionals, law enforcement and regulators of marijuana programs across the country, among others. Indeed, law enforcement leaders endorsed the MORE Act, penning a letter in August of this year explaining that responsible regulation and control of marijuana will be more beneficial to society than prohibiting and criminalizing it, underscoring marijuana decriminalization would help build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
NORML: “This is a historic day for marijuana policy in the United States. This vote marks the first time in 50 years that a chamber of Congress has ever revisited the classification of cannabis as a federally prohibited substance and sought to close the rapidly widening chasm between state and federal marijuana policies. By establishing this new trajectory for federal policy, we expect that more states will revisit and amend the archaic criminalization of cannabis, establish regulated consumer marketplaces, and direct law enforcement to cease the practice of arresting over half a million Americans annually for marijuana-related violations — arrests which disproportionately fall upon those on people of color and those on the lower end of the economic spectrum.”
Center for American Progress Action Fund: “The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act ends the federal marijuana prohibition while still allowing states to keep their current marijuana policies on the books. In addition to decriminalizing, the MORE Act takes a restorative approach by expunging marijuana convictions, facilitate resentencing, and reinvest in communities most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs…The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act is a comprehensive federal marijuana measure, that would not only legalize marijuana, but would also clear marijuana records, ensure a right to public benefits regardless of a marijuana conviction, and use tax revenue to support communities impacted by the War on Drugs.”
Cannabis Trade Federation: “Now more than ever, we need a commonsense approach to the nation’s cannabis laws. We believe that the MORE Act is the best opportunity to tackle the pressing social, economic, and criminal justice challenges that accompany the transition to a legal and regulated cannabis market.”
Veterans Cannabis Coalition: “The fight for legalization and the investigation of the medical benefits of cannabis promises to strike at a number of social ills: expanding beneficial treatment options to so many in need of alternatives, eliminating a major driver in mass incarceration, and jumpstarting a new economic sector are just a few of many. The MORE Act offers the entire United States the opportunity to recognize the damage done the people of this nation in criminalizing basic self-agency and correct course.”
Full text of H.R. 3884, the MORE Act can be found here.
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