On September 30, 2021, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act by a vote of 26-15, with all Democrats supporting the measure and all but two Republicans voting against it. The legislation would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, allow people with cannabis convictions to have their records expunged, and create a federal tax on marijuana with the revenue going to support community reinvestment and other programs. Notably, this bill brings to light various points of contention over which form of cannabis reform should be the priority for Congress -- this bill or the cannabis banking legislation which was introduced earlier as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Many legalization advocates want to see cannabis banking legislation become enacted, but some social activists argue that advancing the “incremental reform” first would benefit large marijuana businesses without addressing the harms of cannabis criminalization. Separately, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) are also leading the charge on a separate legalization bill in the Senate. But weeks after a public comment period on a draft version of the proposal closed, finalized text has yet to be formally filed—and it is far from certain that Senator Schumer will be able to find enough votes to advance the comprehensive reform through.
