The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement ("MORE") Act of 2019 (H.R. 3884), which removes marijuana from the scheduled substances list under the Controlled Substances Act, and decriminalizes the manufacturing, distribution and possession of marijuana.
The bill passed largely along party lines (222 Democrats and five Republicans voted in support, 158 Republicans and six Democrats voted against), and represents the first time that a bill legalizing marijuana was passed by either chamber of Congress.
Key provisions of the bill include:
- an expungement process for low-level federal cannabis-related convictions and the conducting of sentencing review hearings;
- the creation of a trust fund that would support programs and services for people and business in communities affected by the war on drugs, and the imposition of a 5 percent tax on cannabis products that would be deposited in the fund;
- an end to the denial of federal public benefits to individuals based solely on certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions; and
- a ban on the denial of federal immigration benefits and protections to individuals based solely on certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions.
Commentary Jodi Avergun
While the historical significance of the House passage of the MORE Act cannot be overstated, it will not be passed into law during this Congressional term and will need to be reintroduced when the 117th Congress is sworn in in January. Even then, the prospects for passage are unclear at best. The Democratic majority in the House has shrunk and control of the Senate remains up for grabs at this point. Any Democratic majority that may result in the Senate may not be sufficient to allow for passage of the MORE Act even though Vice President-elect Harris, who would hold the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, was the lead Senate co-sponsor of the MORE Act. With 5 more states voting in 2020 to legalize or decriminalize marijuana starting in 2021, 1 in 3 Americans will be living in a state where some form of marijuana use is legal, and 25 Republican Senators in the incoming Congress come from states that have legalized recreational or medical marijuana. That would suggest a higher likelihood of bipartisan support for some relief from outright illegality at the federal level. The SAFE Banking Act, which provides a safe harbor from Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering prosecutions for certain financial institutions that bank cannabis funds, will also likely be re-introduced in the incoming Congress. Its passage has slightly better chances for passage than the MORE Act, but significant opposition remains.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.