Marijuana Moment reports
In a letter sent to House leadership on Friday, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR)—a coalition that represents more than 220 national organizations—said that it’s imperative to promptly pass the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which cleared the chamber last year and was recently refiled.
Since the House approved the legislation last year, “the circumstances of this past year have made the War on Drugs even more untenable and amplified the voices of those demanding transformation in our criminal-legal system,” the groups wrote.
“In the face of a growing national dialogue on discriminatory law enforcement practices, including the disproportionate policing of drug use in communities of color, transforming our criminal-legal system and redressing its harms is more relevant and more pressing than ever before,” the letter states. “Marijuana reform represents a modest but necessary first step toward that transformation and toward repairing the harm wrought by the War on Drugs. The MORE Act remains the most effective and equitable way forward.”
We strongly support the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act – comprehensive marijuana justice policy that addresses justice reform, racial justice, and equity.
House leadership must bring up this critical legislation for a vote in June: https://t.co/GXIv6ODgx5 pic.twitter.com/uGVUMu8xJP
— The Leadership Conference (@civilrightsorg) June 4, 2021
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is sponsoring the measure, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), allow people with cannabis convictions to have their records expunged and create a federal tax on marijuana, with the revenue going to support community reinvestment and other programs.
Read more at
Civil Rights Groups Demand Congress Pass Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill This Month