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The MORE Act: What it is, Where it Stands, and Its Future

The MORE Act, if passed, would decriminalize Marijuana among other things. It has passed the house but has a harder road in the Senate.

We have had a lot of questions about the MORE Act.  There will be several entries here about the MORE Act about this topic but I wanted to start with a primer:

The MORE Act, or the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act is a bill that if passed in its current form would decriminalize marijuana as well as several other things.  A summary of the Bill at Congress.gov states the following:

Text of the Summary

Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act or the MORE Act

This bill decriminalizes marijuana.

Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.

The bill also makes other changes, including the following:

-replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis,

requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,

-establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,

-imposes an excise tax on cannabis products produced in or imported into the United States and an occupational tax on cannabis production facilities and export warehouses,

-makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers,

-prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,

-prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction),

-establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses,

-directs the Government Accountability Office to study the societal impact of state legalization of recreational cannabis,

-directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study methods for determining whether a driver is impaired by marijuana,

-directs the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study the impact of state legalization of recreational cannabis on the workplace, and

-directs the Department of Education to study the impact of state legalization of recreational cannabis on schools and school-aged children.

Current Status of the MORE Act

Currently the MORE Act has passed the House of Representatives (H.R. 3617) with a vote of 220-204 with voting almost wholly down party lines. 

Will this Bill Pass?

As to my thoughts about this bill passing, I would believe that this bill has a higher chance of passing if there were more bipartisan support.  As opposed to the EQUAL act which has at least 10 Republican Cosponsors, the MORE Act has 114 cosponsors but only one is a Republican.  However we will continue to monitor this bill and keep you informed of any changes.

If anything here applies to you, contact us today.

At The Law Office of Jeremy Gordon, we fight aggressively for our clients. We are experienced, and know what it takes to present a successful defense in a federal criminal case. For prompt, courteous and skilled representation as your federal criminal defense attorney, contact us today to schedule a free phone consultation.
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