As the Trump administration considers rescheduling marijuana, Congressional Democrats have filed a bill to federally legalize cannabis by descheduling it altogether.
In addition to removing the drug from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the new legislation also contains a variety of provisions meant to promote equity and address the collateral consequences of prohibition.
On Friday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, alongside three dozen cosponsors.
This is the fourth session in a row that Nadler has put forward the proposal. It passed the House twice under Democratic control while the sponsor served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but it did not advance last session with Republicans in the majority.
“As more states continue to legalize marijuana and public support increases, federal laws must catch up and reverse failed policies criminalizing marijuana,” Nadler said in a press release. “It is long past time to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge marijuana convictions, and facilitate resentencing, while reinvesting in the communities most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.”
Despite uncertainty about its prospects of advancing this Congress—especially at a time when President Donald Trump is actively considering a more modest proposal to simply reschedule cannabis—advocates are again touting the MORE Act as an example of the type of wide-ranging cannabis reform legislation would take necessary steps to right the wrongs of prohibition and promote social equity.
The latest version of the legislation is largely consistent with past iterations, with certain technical changes including updated data in its findings section, for example.
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