Help us pass the MORE Act in the House

The MORE Act was just reintroduced in the U.S. House. This groundbreaking bill would end the federal war on marijuana and repair the harms of prohibition, which has disproportionately harmed Black and Brown communities.

Momentum for marijuana legalization centered in racial and social justice is growing rapidly in the states and among the public. It’s beyond time for the federal government to catch up.

We made history when the House passed the MORE Act last year. Now we need your help to do it again: urge your Representative to pass the MORE Act immediately and advance marijuana justice.

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Your Message

Subject

Dear Representative,

Message Body

I hope you will co-sponsor the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement (MORE) Act (H.R. 3617), which was reintroduced by Chairman Jerrold Nadler, and support its swift passage in the House this year.

Last December, the House made history when it passed the MORE Act, becoming the first Congressional chamber to vote favorably for a bill that would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act list of drug schedules. The bill, which was overwhelmingly passed in a 228-164 vote, was backed by 120 House co-sponsors. Passage of the MORE Act is long overdue as people across the country call for an end to the harms of marijuana prohibition. An overwhelming 91% of U.S. adults say that marijuana should be legal for recreational or medical use. Despite the popularity of marijuana across the country, nearly every minute one person is arrested for marijuana possession. The continued enforcement of marijuana prohibition laws results in more than half a million arrests in the U.S. every year

The MORE Act seeks to end the federal criminalization of marijuana and align the public’s view with federal law, while allowing individual states to decide the course they want to take on marijuana. The MORE Act would declassify marijuana as a controlled substance under federal law, expunge marijuana convictions, and reduce marijuana sentences. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the MORE Act would reduce time served by 73,000 person-years, over the 2021-2030 period, among existing and future incarcerated individuals.

Additionally, the bill would place an initial five percent federal excise tax on marijuana sales at the manufacturer level in order to fund services in communities adversely impacted by drug prohibition and to build up programming to support a more diverse and inclusive legal marketplace. The MORE Act would ensure that individuals are no longer banned from receiving federal benefits, like nutrition assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), due to marijuana activity. We believe that life-stabilizing support should not be denied because of drug use or a previous conviction – particularly as more states legalize marijuana and families increasingly need more support in the time of COVID-19. The bill would also prevent immigration consequences for marijuana activity. This is key especially for non-citizens who are in compliance with state marijuana laws but still suffer from federal consequences.

Finally, it is important to note that the version of the MORE Act that passed the House last year contained a provision that was added to the bill as part of the Rules Committee process before the floor vote. The provision added a potential exclusion, disallowing people with cannabis convictions from engaging in the federal permitting process. Because advocates and proponents of equity in the industry vehemently opposed this provision, it has since been removed from the bill. This is critical to allowing people with convictions to rebuild their lives. 
 
Please co-sponsor the MORE Act and support its swift passage in the House this year. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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