The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act is one step closer to becoming the law of the land. The House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee voted November 20 to pass the historic bill, which would put an end to marijuana prohibition. The bill now moves to a full House vote.
MORE would remove marijuana from the list of Schedule I
controlled substances, expunge the records of people with marijuana convictions, and impose a
5% tax on marijuana sales, to be reinvested in communities most impacted by the
war on drugs, reported CNBC.
“It deschedules the cannabis plant, thereby
leaving regulatory decisions regarding medical cannabis access entirely up to
individual state and local governments absent undue federal interference,” says
Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a group working
to reform marijuana laws.
By descheduling cannabis, the bill would allow licensed medical cannabis dispensaries to borrow
money from financial institutions and use banking services (many dispensaries
are cash-only businesses now), removing existing barriers to running a cannabis
business.
MORE would also allow access to medical marijuana for
veterans through the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). Currently VA doctors
cannot help veterans get medical marijuana, but the law would allow them to recommend
medical cannabis.
It would also protect immigrants from being denied
citizenship over marijuana use and ban federal agencies from denying public
benefits or security clearance due to cannabis use.
No Information on MarijuanaDoctors.Com should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition. You can view our Full Disclaimer here.
