On June 9, young adults belonging to chapters of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) sent a letter to Congress urging them to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. SSDP is a “global youth-led network dedicated to ending the war on drugs.”

In the letter, they urge House members to co-sponsor the MORE Act. They also asked members to support its swift progress to a full floor vote this month. 

In like manner, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) also wrote a letter to Congress demanding a vote on the MORE Act by the end of the month. The LCCHR group is a coalition representing over 220 national organizations. 

The MORE Act

The MORE Act is a legalization bill aiming to federally decriminalize marijuana, reassess marijuana convictions, and invest in local communities. It passed the House last December. However, the bill couldn’t make it to the Senate before the legislative session ended. Thus, killing it before supporters could make further progress. 

On Friday, U.S. House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler reintroduced the bill in the House. 

“Since I introduced the MORE Act last Congress, numerous states across the nation … have moved to legalize marijuana. Our federal laws must keep up with this pace,” Nadler said.

If the bill passes, it will also remove marijuana from the Schedule I drug list. Descheduling marijuana would free up many barriers that researchers face trying to study the plant. Along with increased access for researchers studying the plant, removing marijuana from the Schedule I list will generate new business opportunities for people throughout the country. 

SSDP Letter to Congress

SSDP’s letter focuses on the racial disparities surrounding cannabis arrests and the marijuana industry as a whole. It states:

“There is a growing consensus that criminalizing marijuana and people who consume marijuana only exacerbates and contributes to poverty, violence, mass deportation, and mass incarceration.” 

The letter continues, “marijuana decriminalization will drastically reduce the number of people arrested, incarcerated, or confined by the United States’ justice system.”

Additionally, a 2017 survey found that only 19 percent of marijuana business owners identified as nonwhite. The MORE Act has steps to address and ensure the legal marketplace becomes more diverse and inclusive of individuals adversely affected by prohibition. 

The letter concludes: 

“Marijuana decriminalization will drastically reduce the number of people arrested, prosecuted, and incarcerated in the United States. (….) Implementing the MORE Act will deliver a more equitable tomorrow and set the nation on a path towards positive outcomes.” 

LCCHR Letter to Congress

LCCHR’s letter communicated the group’s support of the MORE Act. It also urged legislatures to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote by the end of June 2021. 

The letter explains how the War on Drugs is a failed attempt at racial disparities throughout past decades. 

“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 conclusion, the letter states, “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. 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.”

Moving Forward with Marijuana

An increasing number of people, groups, and organizations are calling for cannabis reform, and many states are working on various legalization measures. 

If the House passes the MORE Act, it will then head to the Senate. Last year a similar version of the bill failed in the Senate. Because it was late in the legislative session and time ran out. But with the session getting started, the bill could have its time in the Senate. Until then, the House must first approve the Act. 

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