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The House passed a bill on Friday decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, a sweeping measure aimed at reducing racial inequalities in drug arrests. The measure, which would remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances and clear federal convictions for non-violent marijuana-related offenses, is now going to the Senate, where it is unlikely to pass.
The House passed the Marijuana Opportunities Reinvestment and Deregistration Act (MORE) by 228 votes to 164, with six Democrats voting against and five Republicans voting for. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz was the only Republican to co-sponsor the bill, which had more than 100 Democratic sponsors.
“This long overdue legislation would reverse the failed policy of criminalizing marijuana at the federal level and take action to address the heavy toll this policy has taken across the country, particularly on communities of color,” Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, who introduced the bill, said in a statement after the passage of the MORE law.
According to an American Civil Liberties Union report adopted this year, black Americans are 3.6 times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana, despite similar rates of use. However, ACLU data also revealed that racial disparities persist in arrests in some states that have legalized or decriminalized marijuana.
In a speech to the House ahead of the vote, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries said he hoped the move would help reduce the large incarcerated population in the United States.
“The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world. We have ruined lives, families and communities. It is a stain on our democracy,” Jeffries said. “Marijuana use is either socially acceptable behavior or criminal conduct. But it cannot be socially accepted behavior in some neighborhoods and criminal behavior in other neighborhoods when the dividing line is the race.”
However, while Democrats view decriminalization as an important criminal justice issue, most Senate Republicans appear unwilling to consider it. In a speech in the Senate on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked why House Democrats are voting on a bill to decriminalize marijuana rather than focusing on coronavirus relief.
“The House of Representatives is spending this week on pressing issues like marijuana. Marijuana. You know, serious and important legislation, to benefit the national crisis,” McConnell said sarcastically.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged McConnell to put the law to a vote in the Senate, saying in a statement Friday that “the House has taken a historic step toward ending the federal marijuana ban.” .
“Today’s bipartisan vote shows how far this movement has come. I am encouraged by the actions taken by the House and I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to support those efforts as well,” Schumer said.
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