(Washington, D.C.) – In a historic vote, the House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act 228-164 Friday, the first comprehensive marijuana reform legislation to pass a chamber of Congress that would decriminalize cannabis. Beyond removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, the MORE Act allows for expungement and resentencing for individuals with cannabis offenses and invests in job-training, reentry services, legal aid, literacy programs and more in communities. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law supports and endorses this bill, which represents an important step in addressing the negative impact the War on Drugs has had on Black Americans and other communities of color. Erinn Martin, an attorney with the Public Policy project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement:
“For over 80 years, the criminalization of marijuana has ravaged Black and Brown communities in this country. In passing the MORE Act, the House of Representatives takes an important step in addressing the devastating effect that federal marijuana laws have had on people of color, and in particular on Black Americans who are four times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than white people. The MORE Act marks a critical step forward in righting the wrongs the War on Drugs created. The Senate should immediately take up and pass the bill.”
Background:
The Senate companion bill, S. 2227, was introduced by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in 2019. The national Lawyers’ Committee recently released “Expungement Now: A Post-Conviction Toolkit for Attorneys and Advocates” as a resource for state-level expungement of cannabis-related offenses.
###
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
