The bill, which decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level, is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The House on Friday passed a bill decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, a sweeping measure that aims to reduce racial inequities in drug arrests. The measure, which would remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances and expunge federal convictions for non-violent marijuana offenses, now goes to the Senate, where it is unlikely to pass. The House passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act by a vote of 228 to 164, with six Democrats voting against it and five Republicans voting for it. Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida was the only Republican to co-sponsor the bill, which had over 100 Democratic sponsors. „This long-overdue legislation would reverse the failed policy of criminalizing marijuana on the federal level and would take steps to address the heavy toll this policy has taken across the country, particularly on communities of color,“ House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler, who introduced the bill, said in a statement after the MORE Act was passed.
