Kyle Jaeger, writing for Marijuana Moment:
Leadership of the House of Representatives is moving toward holding a floor vote on a comprehensive federal cannabis legalization bill in September, multiple sources familiar with the developing plan tell Marijuana Moment.
The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act—introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) last year—has already cleared his panel and was referred to several other committees. In the months since, advocates have been eagerly awaiting further action to advance the legislation to the floor.
While the coronavirus pandemic has stalled legislative efforts on a wide range of issues, sources in the advocacy world and an aide to a key House committee chair say that a floor vote of the MORE Act is now being planned for September.
Assuming the last few kinks get ironed out in time (which is not a guarantee at this point), later this year the House will vote on the MORE Act, which would deschedule cannabis, expunge prior convictions, and impose a 5% sales tax that will be reinvested into communities that have been most harmed by the drug war. Let’s hope it succeeds.