PRESS RELEASE - Washington, DC: As first reported by Politico, the House Small Business Committee is waiving jurisdiction over the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act (H.R. 3884), making it the second House committee in the 116th Congress to advance legislation to end federal marijuana prohibition.
“With this action, the MORE Act is one step closer to becoming the first bill to end cannabis prohibition to pass the House of Representatives,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. “Never have we been closer to ending federal marijuana criminalization. Thanks to the work of the Small Business Committee and Chairwoman Velazquez, the emerging legal cannabis industry will ultimately become more inclusive to small businesses and entrepreneurs.”
The MORE Act would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and incentivize states to facilitate the expungement of criminal records related to low-level marijuana offenses, among other changes. The bill passed in the Judiciary Committee on Nov. 20 with a bipartisan vote of 24 to 10.
