The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today. This Act legalizes cannabis federally in the United States. But it must still go through the Senate before coming into law.
The MORE Act also protects people with prior cannabis felonies. They can still take part in the legal cannabis industry.
The Act also authorizes $10M for law enforcement to start roadside cannabis impairment testing. There is also money partitioned to study the impact of legal cannabis in the workplace. Likewise, there is an amendment to direct the Department of Education to conduct a study on the impact of legalization in schools.
Currently, there is no companion bill in the Senate. But expect one sometime next month.
“With voter support for legal cannabis at an all-time high and more and more states moving away from prohibition, we commend the House for once again taking this step to modernize our federal marijuana policies,” said NCIA Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Aaron Smith in a statement. “Now is the time for the Senate to act on sensible reform legislation so that we can finally end the failure of prohibition and foster a well-regulated marketplace for cannabis.”
Recreational cannabis is legal for adults in 18 states as well as the District of Columbia, the territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. 36 states have legalized medical cannabis. The MORE Act (once signed into law) will legalize cannabis throughout the United States.