Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act
The MORE Act was passed in the US House of Representatives this month, winning by less than 20 votes. Here are the highlights of what this bill is supposed to do:
The bill starts out by saying that the criminalization of cannabis has disproportionately impacted minority groups, particularly people of color, by incarcerating them more often (650% more often, in fact) and for 13.1 percent longer sentences, while at the same time, noting that less than one fifth of cannabis business owners are minorities with less than 4% identifying as black. Also, entering into the legal selling of cannabis is stacked against small business owners with licensing fees and applications to become a legal seller costing as much as $700,000. This makes it staggeringly difficult for smaller businesses to really engage in this market. In short, minorities and the less wealthy have less access to the benefits of this legal market and also take the brunt of the harm done.
Additions to the bill since 2020 note that enforcing cannabis prohibition laws costs taxpayers approximately $3.6 billion a year and that one out of every four deportation cases was based on the simple possession (for personal use) of cannabis.
The next big finding at the beginning of this law was basically that most of the states have altered their state laws regarding cannabis in some way despite the federal criminalization. It is already a billion dollar industry and as more and more states join the group allowing freer use, the projected sales are almost double the billions previously seen.
The bill goes on to talk about the decriminalization of cannabis, the striking of cannabis for the list of schedule 1 drugs (the most dangerous categorization of drugs currently which includes drugs like heroin, etc. ), and the process by which those incarcerated by federal law can seek expunged convictions and hearings. There is also a dilated change in terminology changing “marijuana” and “marihuana” to “cannabis.”
As expected, there is a long section about new taxes on the importation of cannabis and the production and sale of cannabis. Probably a third of this bill is about the new taxes which I’m sure surprises no one. There is an excise tax and an occupational tax. Both carry monetary penalties if not paid and even the possibility of jail time with a 2 year cap. Based on everything stated within their own findings, this does seem a little counterintuitive but when compared with the 15+ year sentences an individual could get now, it may be a step in the right direction.
The rest of the bill, with the exception of the very end, deals with the fees, taxes, tax exemptions and penalties for not complying with the tax and other regulations. The very end describes several studies to be conducted to report the impact of the legalization of recreational cannabis. This bill is called the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act but only time will tell if it is truly a well-crafted bill that will tackle the challenges caused by the inclusion of cannabis in the war on drugs or if it will simply become a mechanism for the polarization of minorities to happen in a different way while the government reaps an additional profit. Even with its possible flaws, this bill will only make it into law if the Senate doesn’t squash it as expected. What would you like to see happen? Let us know below!
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