Marijuana legalization bill approved by the US House, Senate vote pending

The US House of Representatives voted Friday passing a bill that would decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. This move would eliminate the longstanding criminal penalties for anyone who distributes or possesses it.

The voting took place along party lines, with 220 votes in favor and 204 opposed.

The bill would “end decades of failed and unjust marijuana policy,” Democratic Representative Ed Perlmutter said on the House floor on Thursday ahead of the vote. “It is clear prohibition is over. Today we have an opportunity to chart a new path forward on federal cannabis policy that actually makes sense.”

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While there is no certainty as to what happens next in the Senate, advocates believe that they’re more hopeful the legislation will finally become law with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.

The bill, titled the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, would remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances. It will also add a federal tax on the products. 

“For far too long, we have treated marijuana as a criminal justice problem instead of as a matter of personal choice and public health,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the chief sponsor of the bill, said.

“If states are the laboratories of democracy, it is long past time for the federal government to recognize that legalization has been a resounding success and the conflict with federal law has become untenable,” he added. The federal ban largely blocks cannabis businesses from the US banking system.

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According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, at least 37 states, four territories and the District of Columbia allow the use of marijuana for medical use.

A 2021 Pew Research Center poll found that 91% Americans agreed that either medical or recreational use of marijuana should be allowed.