US House of Representatives Passes MORE Act (Again)

The US House of Representatives has once again approved the MORE act, a piece of legislation that, if also approved by the Senate and the president, would legalize cannabis across the nation.

The act was passed 220 votes to 204 on Friday, April 1.

The House previously approved the MORE act back in December 2020, but it stalled on the way to the Senate as the then session of Congress came to a close.

Once MORE unto the breach

The bill, known as the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) act, would remove cannabis from the US’s Controlled Substances Act and eliminate penalties for the cultivation, production, and possession of cannabis. There is also a provision to expunge previous cannabis offenses and create a sentencing review process for those convicted of federal cannabis crimes.

After debating the bill for an hour on Friday, the House approved the MORE act with two amendments (but rejected a third) largely along party lines; only three Republicans supported the measure and two Democrats opposed it.

“I am thrilled to announce that the House has passed my bill, the #MOREAct, on a bipartisan basis!” Representative Jerry Nadler, who introduced the bill, Tweeted on April 1.

“This bill reverses decades of failed federal policies based on the criminalization of marijuana by legalizing marijuana, retroactively expunging previous convictions and more.”

The bill now moves onto the US Senate, where it will likely have a tougher time progressing. A minimum of 60 senators (out of the total 100) would need to support the bill for it to pass – a big ask given the partisan divide seen in the House.