House Set to Take Up Legislation on Medical Marijuana Bill
On Wednesday, the House Rules Committee considered legislation to federally legalize marijuana under the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act.
An earlier version of the MORE Act was passed by the House in 2020.
The House is expected to pass the bill before Friday. The bill previously stalled out in the Senate and is not expected to receive Senate support, according to policy analysts.
The MORE Act would remove marijuana from a list of federally banned drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, but legalization could still be left to the states.
Thirty-seven states have legalized cannabis for medical use, with 18 states legalizing both medical and recreational use.
The bill would also change penalties for federal convictions for cannabis-related activity and create an expungement system for nonviolent federal marijuana convictions.
A federal excise tax on marijuana products would also be implemented through the bill, with 5% the first two years after the bill’s enactment and 8% by year five.
This tax revenue would fund a new Opportunity Trust Fund under the Justice Department to support substance abuse treatment programs.
One of the amendments to the bill would require marijuana products be labeled with a surgeon general’s warning and be sold in packaging designed to be significantly difficult to open for children aged five years and under.
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