Historic Marijuana Vote in Congress on Wednesday

Tell your Members of Congress to Move the MORE Act Forward

We’re making history with marijuana justice in Congress. In an unprecedented move, the House Judiciary Committee will vote on the MORE Act this Wednesday, November 20.

It’s the most far-reaching marijuana legalization bill ever introduced – and now it’s the only bill of its kind to advance this far at the federal level.

Marijuana prohibition is destroying lives and disproportionately harming Black and Brown people and low-income communities. The MORE Act would de-schedule marijuana and end federal prohibition in a fair way by reinvesting marijuana tax revenue in those who have been most affected by failed marijuana laws.

With an historic committee vote this Wednesday, you can help us take this crucial bill even further.

Tell your Members of Congress to support and move the MORE Act forward to end the federal war on marijuana and repair the harms of prohibition.

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Your Message

Subject

Dear Member of Congress,

Message Body

As your constituent, I urge you to support and cosponsor the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act, H.R.3884). This groundbreaking and necessary bill will be voted on by the House Judiciary Committee this Wednesday, November 20, and it’s crucial that it continues to move through Congress after that vote.

The MORE Act would de-schedule marijuana at the federal level and begin to rectify the extensive damage done by prohibition. It is the most comprehensive marijuana reform bill ever introduced in the U.S. Congress and is backed by a broad coalition of civil rights, criminal justice, drug policy, and immigration groups.

If enacted, the bill would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus decriminalizing the substance at the federal level and enable states to set their own policy. Descheduling will also allow the existing state-legal marijuana industry access to financial services or standard tax treatment like every other legal business. The bill would also lift barriers to research and veterans will have better access to medical marijuana, with VA doctors no longer risking federal prosecution for filling out state-legal medical recommendations.

Given the way the marijuana industry has had to come into being under section 280E, existing enterprises would have a lower overall tax burden than under the current policy of prohibition. The bill would tax marijuana products at a modest 5% to establish a Trust Fund.

The Trust Fund would have four functions:

1. A fund administrated by the newly created Office of Cannabis Justice to give grants to communities negatively impacted by the war on drugs for the development of expungement processes, employment programs, reentry guidance, youth resources and more.  The Office of Cannabis would be one of the Justice Programs in the Department of Justice. This provision is modeled on the Marijuana Justice Act, by Senator Cory Booker (NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (CA).
2. A fund for substance use treatment.
3. A fund administered by the Small Business Administration to encourage socially and economically disadvantaged people to enter the cannabis industry, similar to legislation introduced by Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (NY).
4. A fund administered by the Small Business Administration to create equitable licensing programs in states and local governments that benefit communities most impacted by the prohibition.

Currently, individuals with a marijuana conviction are saddled with collateral consequences including a prohibition from obtaining federal benefits, student loans, or a security clearance for government jobs due to marijuana’s criminalized status. To correct the historical injustices relating to prohibition the MORE Act offers the opportunity to petition for resentencing and expungement. This will eliminate this discrimination and create new opportunities for individuals desperate to advance their careers, education and quality of life. Immigrants will no longer be subject to deportation or citizenship denial solely based a marijuana infraction.

The bill also instructs the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data on the demographics of the industry, so we know how people of color and those who are economically disadvantaged are participating in the industry.

The MORE Act is crucial legislation that will end federal marijuana prohibition and further reparative justice and equity in legalization. For decades, low-income communities and communities of color have borne the brunt of over-enforcement of failed marijuana laws and the life-long collateral consequences that follow a marijuana arrest. Marijuana convictions have prevented millions of people from being able to secure or maintain employment, housing, education and even keep their kids. While we won’t be able to repair that destruction overnight, the MORE Act ends prohibition in a fair and just way that begins to reinvest in and prioritize those most affected. For all these reasons, I urge you to support and move the MORE Act forward in Congress. Thank you.

Sincerely,

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

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