Marijuana Decriminalization Legislation Breezes Through the House
“We’re here because Congress has failed to deal with a disastrous war on drugs and do its part for the over 15 million marijuana users in every one of your districts.”
The U.S. House voted mostly along party lines to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
A few representatives finally admitted the war on drugs is a disaster.
Before anyone says anything let me say this. Oklahoma legalized weed, but private companies in Oklahoma still have drug testing, and you still cannot drive while impaired whether it’s medicine, weed, alcohol, etc.
If this passes through the Senate and the president, the Controlled Substances Act would no longer list marijuana.
The bill also eradicates “previous marijuana convictions and order resentencing for those imprisoned with pot convictions.”
Many states have already legalized marijuana for medicine, recreation, or both. From Fox News:
Marijuana legislation has been largely stagnant on the federal level, but more states have moved toward legalization in recent days. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota voted to legalize marijuana in election referendums, bringing the total to 15 states where the drug will be legal. In addition, 38 states allow medical marijuana.
“We’re not rushing to legalize marijuana. The American people have already done that. We’re here because Congress has failed to deal with a disastrous war on drugs and do its part for the over 15 million marijuana users in every one of your districts,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a key player behind the bill, said on the House floor before the vote. “It’s time for Congress to step up and do its part. We need to catch up with the rest of the American people.”
“Our marijuana laws disproportionately harm individuals and communities of color, leading to convictions that damage job prospects, access to housing, and the ability to vote,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, wrote on Twitter.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was the only Republican co-sponsor of the bill. He admits it’s flawed, but still voted for it:
Rep. Matt Gaetz, the only Republican co-sponsor of the bill, admitted the measure was “flawed” because it “uses cannabis policy to do a great deal of social engineering” to create new taxes, new programs and redistribution of assets. But Gaetz said he would still vote for the bill “because the federal government has lied to the people of this country about marijuana for a generation.”
“My Republican colleagues today will make a number of arguments against this bill, but those arguments are overwhelmingly losing with the American people,” Gaetz, R-Fla., said. “I’m going to vote for the MORE Act. It won’t pass the Senate. It won’t become law. We should come back in the 117th Congress and we should truly do more for our people.”
"The bill is passed."
U.S. House APPROVES #MOREAct legislation on Federal Decriminalization of #Marijuana, 228-164.
Goes now to the U.S. Senate. pic.twitter.com/qSngBuJr3I
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 4, 2020
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Comments
Mostly Democrat ran states that have legalized marijuana so it goes to figure the Democrats in the House vote for it.
And don’t forget: you’re free to have meth, cocaine & co on you in Oregon – but you’re going to prison for using a plastic straw… 😉
Fortunately, rolled-up paper currency has not yet been recalled.
As with so many misnamed bills sponsored by Democrats the “Controlled Substances Act” should properly be called “Another Law To Remove The Awful Concept of Personal Responsibility From Burdening Us Anymore.”
A dopey populace to go with a dopey POTUS. Won’t that be grand!
IMO the individual, adult Citizen should be at liberty to choose for themselves unless the item is clearly and overwhelmingly harmful.
Whatever else marijuana is, it isn’t that. At least no more so than Jim Beam or Jameson if used responsibly and in moderation. We have likely all encountered functional alcoholics, without an accompanying charge; a DUI or Disorderly conduct etc we don’t lock them up.
Individual use and possession by adults is one thing. However, trafficking and especially to minors is another. Just as local liquor store puts their licence on the line if caught selling to minors the same should hold for marijuana dispensaries.
Oh and don’t forget the state and federal excise taxes…..
Ken Burns’ film “Prohibition” ends with the sobering point that addiction is a constant affliction of humans. Prohibition created the Mafia in the US and drug bans (legal before 1911) have led to a failed “War on Drugs” and billions of dollars to cartels and now Hezbollah working through Venezuela. Fewer people drank alcohol during Prohibition and fewer people use drugs now than if to bans… but what is the total cost? Since we don’t demand personal responsibility even from addicts…what can we do?
“”We have likely all encountered functional alcoholics, without an accompanying charge; a DUI or Disorderly conduct etc we don’t lock them up.””
The hell we don’t, at least in Texas. The law here <a href:"https://www.texasdwilaw.com/what-are-the-penalties-for-dwi/" frowns on DUI. Hard. Doesn’t mean that nobody drinks and drives, just like we have a lot of potheads. You use, you lose.
“”We have likely all encountered functional alcoholics, without an accompanying charge; a DUI or Disorderly conduct etc we don’t lock them up.””
The hell we don’t.
Functional alcoholics are umm….functional in society. They go to work come home and drink a pint or two of hard liquor and pass out into a stupor. These folks only hurt themselves.
Which functional alcoholics do we lock up up without any charges?
Apparently I misread your statement. I thought you were claiming that we didn’t lock up DUIs. Nobody cares much about drinkers OR dopers as long as they keep to themselves and don’t bother anybody else.
This will be the Democrats’ lead argument in the Georgia runoffs. It will be a Get Out The Dopers Campaign. Vote for marijuana.
OlderGlory,
I believe you are correct. I have also believed for some time that the decriminalization of marijuana was coming like it not. That being the case the smart political play would have been to steal the issue from the d and enact it on r terms.
If that had happened would it have completely de-fanged the d fever dream projections of runs ‘racists’? Not completely but an honest assessment is that, in combo with prison/sentencing reforms it would certainly have made the job of portraying every r as a ‘racist’ much harder.
Oh, yeah, dope. Perfect. Speaking of which, hey Joe: where is Hunter? Imagine being on his detail. Will he get Marian’s room in the White House? I’m sure the Biden administration monikers will be epic. Anything they say for Kamala might be a hostile workplace cause of action.
Let’s try one, “Vice President of the United States.” I can hear the printers whirring.
Thanks, Professor.
The worst part of the deal is allowing any tax on marijuana. It is none of the governments business.
Hate the smell of the stuff. Neighbors grow a handsome crop, every summer. At a guess, they probably subsidize their income from the crop. They love the stuff and see to use it everyday. Hell, I have never known them when they weren’t involved with it and they seem to have gotten along in life without ill effect.
The last time I had any was 1989. It was way too potent and I don’t ever want do that again.
Ah well, some folks will be greatly “enriched” should the bill get past the Senate. (I don’t think it will)
Can you still buy Zig Zag papers in America? They were the best, “back in the day”.
I can’t seem to find an answer to this very simple question:
Does de-criminalization at the federal level mean that the several states are prohibited from passing legislation criminalizing marijuana at the state level? Does this take away state’s rights to determine their own laws?
Here’s another question: would this automatically remove pot from the list of prohibitions on the federal form you have to fill out when you attempt to purchase any sort of firearm from a dealer?
I believe the answer is “yes, unless they go out of their way to screw gun owners, as they often do.”
No, of course not.
On the contrary, if this passes then states will finally be allowed to determine their own laws on this subject. Right now no matter what a state does, pot remains illegal in that state.
I can’t imagine how it could fail to do that.
“We’re here because Congress has failed to deal with a disastrous war on drugs and do its part for the over 15 million marijuana users in every one of your districts.”
IFIFY: “We’re here because we can’t afford to be shown up as the powerless, illegitimate ‘leaders’ we are by the ever growing number of states who have stuck fingers in our eye and publicly cucked us.”
I have zero problem with the premise of this bill IF it doesn’t have a bunch of BS pork attached.
Unfortunately, it does. As Gaetz said, he supported it only because he expects it to die in the senate, and he hopes next year a better version will be passed, without all those things. Just a clean bill that removes pot from the CSA and lets the states do whatever they like.
I have said it before and I will say it again and again. Whatever you think about marijuana and its use, the main thing about the Ruling Class making it legal to use is to DISQUALIFY ALL USERS FROM LEGALLY OWNING FIREARMS.
The Ruling Class wants to disqualify all users from legally owning firearms is because they plan do commit acts for which we may/would/should shoot them.
Man did I ever screw that up gramatically! In my final sentence please disregard the word “do” and substitute “to” for that word. In that final sentence, “should” is the operative word.
The thing about that is… Sorry i forgot what I was going to say…. 🙂
Just kidding.
Any time the gubbmint gets an unfettered revenue stream, it’s like giving an addict drugs.
If anything, revenue should only to be used to repay what they’ve robbed from Social Security
But I would be open to reparations for similarly situated citizens who don’t use it but have been mercilessly harassed by law enforcement because one might look like someone who does.
Don’t get me wrong-I support LEO, but there are a few out there who do not possess the personality characteristics required of the job. BLM and other marxist organisations virtually guarantee those changes will never be implemented
If some derive a legitimate medical benefit from marijuana use, that’s fine. But two words, unintended consequences.
The “medical dispensaries”, aka pot shops, sprang up like weeds (pun unintended) around here post-Toke’lahoma. Over a dozen in town without even having to look hard. Every lease taken up by one of those is one an entrepreneur of a more traditional and frankly more beneficial business won’t be getting. When downtown is dominated by pawn shops, liquor stores, payday loan sharks, and now pot dispensers, that’s not economic growth. That’s economic decomposition and those kinds of businesses are all too often the mushrooms on a rotting log.
Who the hell are you to decide whether or not an American adult citizen can smoke marijuana?
The notion that this is a health issue, or an economic one is absurd. This is a “freedom” issue and always has been. Call me when alcohol and tobacco use is banned.
As we all head toward the eventual “mMrijuana Master Settlement Agreement”
” Oklahoma has legal marijuana, medicinal and recreational.”
Wrong. Recreational marijuana is NOT legal in Oklahoma. I don’t know if there are any other errors in the article,didn’t read any further. If Ms Chastain can’t get be bothered to get that right it kinda clouds the entire piece. IMHO
Anyone, who thinks legalizing marijuana is a good idea, is just not paying attention. It is unquestionably true that States, which have “legalized” marijuana have had increased incidence of driving under the influence, in spite of the attempts by the Stoner States to cover up the problems.
I’ll wager that a lot more people die from alcohol-related accidents, a LOT more! Do you have any idea, any idea at all how many crimes are related to alcohol? Robberies, assaults, domestic violence? By your logic, banning alcohol (again) is the obvious next step.
I’m not holding my breath. This, again, is a freedom issue. Smoking pot should not be illegal, period.