The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has approved a bill to decriminalise and tax marijuana in the US at the federal level.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has approved a bill to decriminalise and tax marijuana in the US at the federal level. Opponents, mostly Republicans, called the bill a hollow political gesture and mocked Democrats for bringing it up at a time when thousands of Americans are dying from the coronavirus pandemic. “With all the challenges America has right now, (Republicans) think Covid relief should be on the floor, but instead, the Democrats put cats and cannabis on the House floor,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “They’re picking weed over the workers. They’re picking marijuana over (providing) the much-needed money we need to go forward to address the pandemic.” Mr McCarthy’s comment about cats referred to a separate bill approved by the House to ban private ownership of big cats such as lions and tigers, a measure boosted by the Netflix series Tiger King.
