More to Come...
The MORE Act & What it Means
By Justine Sutton On December 4, the House of Representatives approved Passage of the act also would save the federal prison legislation on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and system about $1 billion. Expungement (MORE) Act. Passing the bill in the Senate, however, is still not likely, even with Vice President-elect What other changes would the MORE Act bring? Kamala Harris as its sponsor. • Cannabis would be completely removed from the But if Democrats win the runoff elections in Georgia on Controlled Substances Act. With cannabis off federal January 5, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will scheduling, individual states can decide how they’ll reform be stripped of his power to block such bills. That includes their marijuana laws. decriminalization or legalization, which he has blocked consistently despite the overwhelming popularity of • The MORE Act is the first federal legislation establishing legalization, even among Republican voters. social equity programs for cannabis entrepreneurs, and would ensure expungements of prior low-level marijuana Even if the Senate doesn’t flip, though, the House’s historic offenses, with sentences reduced for those serving time in move will prove powerful for a very tangible reason — the federal prisons for such violations Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report states if the MORE Act becomes law, the government would take in • The MORE Act will tax all cannabis sales at 5%, going about $13.7 billion in revenue by 2030. toward regulatory oversight, funding expungements and resentencing procedures, and researching how legal cannabis will affect the population at large. CS
Winter 2020 Cannabis by the Sea
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