The House passed legislation Friday that would legalize marijuana nationwide, eliminating criminal penalties for anyone who manufactures, distributes or possesses the substance.
Lawmakers approved the measure by 220 to 204 votes.
The legislation, called the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Deletion Act, passed in the House last year, but it didn’t move forward in the Senate. In addition to decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, the bill would establish procedures to remove past convictions from people’s records and tax the sale of cannabis products.
The tax will start at 5% and eventually rise to 8%. Funding raised through the tax will go to a fund to provide job training, mentoring, substance abuse treatment, legal aid, re-entry services, and recreation programs for youth. A summary of the bill said it would also provide loans to help small businesses in the cannabis industry that are “owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals”.
“This landmark legislation is one of the most important criminal justice reform bills in modern history,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in remarks in the chamber Thursday about the measure.
Pelosi said the legislation would bring “justice to those harmed by the brutal and unjust consequences of criminalization,” and “open opportunities for people to participate in industry and decriminalize fate at the federal level” so that we do not repeat the grave mistakes of our past.
37 states and Washington, DC, have enacted medical marijuana legalization laws, with 18 states and the metropolitan area legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. Pelosi highlighted the changes that have been made statewide over the past few decades.
“Now is the time for the federal government to follow suit,” she said.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DNY, was working with Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cory Booker, D.N.J. To draft similar legalization legislation in their chamber. The odds of passing such a bill in the Senate appear low because Democrats would need all of their members and 10 Republicans to overcome the 60-vote hurdle needed to advance to the final vote.