The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted Friday to decriminalize marijuana on a federal level. The vote, which sets the stage for a new legal pot market in the spring of 2022, was along party lines. Ten Democrats and one independent voted in favor of the bill. Six Republicans and three independents opposed the measure. The House eliminated a controversial section about applicants for “social equity.”
The legislation passed by the House passed the House Judiciary Committee last year and went to the House floor on Friday. Rep. Ed Osienski, a Democrat from Newark, was one of the original sponsors. The Democratic-led House has marijuana a cooler stance on legalization than the Republican-run Senate. But the newly progressive Democratic Caucus is expected to pass the bill. While the House voted against the measure on Thursday, the Senate hasn’t acted on it.
The legislation will require new licensing fees on marijuana sales. It needs a 60 percent supermajority to become law. But it only needs 25 votes in the 41-member House, 13 in the 21-member Senate. The Democratic Party has one seat more than the Republican majority in both chambers, so it could pass despite full Republican opposition. The debate over whether to legalize marijuana will impact the federal budget is not over yet.
As of the latest legislation, the Senate still has not passed a cannabis legalization bill. The Senate will now review a companion bill later this year. The bill has been redrafted by Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, Oregon, and New Jersey. It contains stronger social justice measures and removes language that would deny federal permits to applicants with felony marijuana convictions.
The Senate’s legislation is similar to the House’s bill, but it is different. It does not change state laws, and it does not affect the law in any way. The House voted to legalize marijuana on Friday. The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee, but Republicans were not able to pass the Senate bill in the previous year. It is now up to the states to determine how it will be regulated.
The Senate voted to legalize marijuana on Thursday, but a bill with similar language was shelved after months of delays and chastised Democrats for advancing the legislation before election day. The Republicans opposed the bill because it did not give enough time to focus on COVID-19 relief. However, the Senate will now move forward with scheduling a floor vote on the marijuana decriminalization bill.
The MORE Act, which will reverse federal marijuana policy, is expected to be passed by the House of Representatives on Friday. This bill also addresses the heavy toll that the federal marijuana policy has had on communities of color. white widow xxl auto The House Democrats’ majority in the Senate is crucial in ensuring that the legislation is approved. The MORE Act would make it easier for states to get a marijuana bill through, and ensure that marijuana remains legal in the state.
The MORE Act is expected to pass the House of Representatives next week. It will remove cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and enable low-level arrests and convictions. Though it is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate, the legislation is a way for the Democrats to send a message on drugs. The MORE Act would also create an excise tax on cannabis sales and distribute the proceeds to communities that have been negatively affected by the war on drugs.
As the vote was narrow, opponents were arguing over language that would allow convicted marijuana users to keep their records clean. Opponents of the bill argued that marijuana-related offenses should be decriminalized as well. This legislation is expected to be passed by the House of Representatives in the next few months. And the resulting changes could set the stage for a new industry to thrive.