HISTORIC: House of Representatives Approves Bill to End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

• BY NORML
• POSTED ON DECEMBER 4, 2020

This is HUGE!

Moments ago, members of the House of Representatives voted to approve the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, HR 3884, which removes marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act — thereby eliminating the existing conflict between state and federal marijuana laws and providing states with the authority to establish their own cannabis laws free from undue federal interference.

This is an historic day for marijuana policy in the United States. This vote marks the first time in 50 years that a chamber of Congress has ever revisited the classification of cannabis as a federally controlled and prohibited substance, and it marks the first time in 24 years — when California became the first state defy the federal government on the issue of marijuana prohibition — that Congress has sought to close the widening chasm between state and federal marijuana policies.

And this important victory is due in no small part thanks to YOU.

Together, over the past few months, we have sent thousands of emails and made hundreds of calls to members of Congress. Today, those efforts paid off.

By going on the record with this vote, House members have set the stage for a much-needed legislative showdown in 2021 when we will have the Biden administration in office — one that has publicly expressed an appetite for advancing the restorative justice remedies outlined in the MORE Act. We are primed and ready for this legislative debate and we expect, ultimately, to win it.

So today we celebrate. Tomorrow, we get back to work. NORML won’t stop fighting until there isn’t a single person in this country put in handcuffs for possession of cannabis and until all 50 states in this country embrace the sensible and pragmatic policy of legalizing and regulating marijuana. But we can achieve these goals if we remain united in our efforts. Are you in?