Share:
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara)
voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act in the House on Dec. 4. According to a statement from Carbajal’s office, it’s the first time a chamber of Congress has voted to federally decriminalize marijuana. “For too long, our federal marijuana policy has lagged behind popular public opinion and the policies embraced by forward-thinking states like California,” Carbajal said in the statement. “The MORE Act is a long overdue measure which decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level and expunges nonviolent federal drug convictions. Today, we voted to finally reverse decades of discriminatory marijuana policy, invest in the communities most affected by the failed war on drugs, and allow for a well-regulated industry to grow our economy.” The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the federally controlled substances list, authorize a cannabis tax that would be used to address needs in communities impacted by the war on drugs, and would expunge low-level federal cannabis convictions and arrests.