The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) group is a coalition representing more than 200 national organizations. They wrote a letter June 1st to the US House of Representatives. They are demanding a vote on the MORE Act by the end of the month. The MORE Act is a legalization bill passed the House last December. However it failed to make it to the Senate before the session ended, killing the bill for the session.

Now it has been reintroduced by the Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). The MORE Act received revision to better represent the needs of the people. And according to the LCCHR, a vote needs to happen, now.

The Letter

The letter, sent June 4th, explains how the War on Drugs is a failed attempt at racial disparities through the decades. It states: 

“In the face of a growing national dialogue on discriminatory law enforcement practices, including the disproportionate policing of drug use in communities of color, transforming our criminal-legal system and redressing its harms is more relevant and more pressing than ever before. Marijuana reform represents a modest but necessary first step toward that transformation and toward repairing the harm wrought by the War on Drugs. The MORE Act remains the most effective and equitable way forward.”

In the US, Africa American males are almost four times as likely to be arrested for cannabis use and possession than their white counterparts. However, usage is typically the same between both groups of people. 

“The MORE Act is needed now more than ever before,” the letter continues. “The bill will strike a blow at mass incarceration by reducing the number of people who are incarcerated, alleviating health challenges posed by COVID-19. Passage of the bill will also help ameliorate economic hardship caused by COVID-19 by minimizing barriers to employment due to prior justice-system involvement and generating hundreds of thousands of new jobs through expanding the industry and investing in affected communities.”

Finally, the letter concludes:

“The MORE Act represents a historic opportunity to address the decades of harm perpetrated by federal marijuana criminalization on communities of color and low-income communities,” it concludes. “Now is the time for the House to pass the MORE Act once again. We strongly urge House leadership to support the passage of the bill and schedule the bill for a vote in June.”

Future

More and more people, groups, and organizations are calling for cannabis reform. While states are working on different legalization measures, cannabis itself is still a Schedule I drug on the federal level. That is the highest classification of drugs in the US. It means the federal government considers these drugs and substances to be dangerous. The LCCHR argues the best thing to do moving forward is to pass the MORE Act. They are urging the House to do so. 

It would move the act to the Senate. They weren’t able to do so last year because the MORE Act passed late in the session. Then the MORE Act could have its time in the Senate. Possibly moving to a full chamber vote. Until then, the House must approve the act first.

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