Should Marijuana Be Federally Decriminalized & Past Cannabis Crimes Expunged? (H.R. 3617)

What is H.R. 3617?

(Updated April 8, 2022)

This bill — the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019 — would provide for comprehensive marijuana reform. At a high level, it would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and require resentencing and expungement of prior marijuana-related convictions. A detailed breakdown of its various provisions can be found below.

Specifically, this bill would: 

• Decriminalize marijuana at the federal level by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act.
• Require resentencing and expungement of prior marijuana-related convictions and require courts to conduct re-sentencing hearings for those still under supervision. 
• Authorize the assessment of a sales tax on marijuana and marijuana products to create an Opportunity Trust Fund. The sales tax would be 5% for the first two calendar years after this bill's enactment, before gradually rising 1% annually to 8%. 
• The Opportunity Trust Fund would finance three grant programs: 1) a Community Reinvestment Program to provide services (such as job training, re-entry services, legal aid, youth recreation, mentoring, substance use treatment, and literacy programs) to those most adversely affected by the War on Drugs; 2) a Cannabis Opportunity Grant Program to provide loans to help small businesses in the marijuana industry that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; and 3) an Equitable Licensing Grant Program to provide funds for programs that reduce barriers to marijuana licensing and employment for those most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs. 
• Open up Small Business Administration (SBA) funding for legitimate cannabis-related businesses and service providers. 
• Provide non-discrimination protections for marijuana use or possession.
• Prohibit the denial of any federal public benefit (including housing) based on marijuana use or possession or prior conviction for a marijuana offense.
• Provide that marijuana use or possession of a prior conviction for a marijuana offense won’t have any adverse impact under immigration laws. 
• Require the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to collect data on the marijuana industry’s demographics to help ensure that people of color and the economically disadvantaged are participating in the marijuana industry.

Argument in favor

Marijuana decriminalization with a criminal justice reform component is needed to address the negative impact of the War on Drugs on minority communities and create economic opportunity by ending the federal prohibition.

Argument opposed

Marijuana is an addictive substance, and legalizing it will only increase its use. Rather than legalizing marijuana, we should instead look for ways to address the reasons for people’s marijuana use.

Impact

Individuals who would use marijuana; individuals with marijuana-related convictions and offenses on their records; marijuana legalization; marijuana scheduling under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA); marijuana offenses’ impact on immigration laws; SBA funding for legitimate cannabis-related businesses and service providers; imposition of a 5% sales tax on marijuana to fund an opportunity trust fund; and the BLS.

Cost of H.R. 3617

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) introduced this bill to enact comprehensive marijuana reform and address injustices in the application of marijuana-related offenses and offered the following statement on it before his committee:

"This long overdue and historic legislation would reverse failed federal policies criminalizing marijuana. It would also take steps to address the heavy toll this policy has taken across the country, particularly among communities of color. I have long believed that the criminalization of marijuana has been a mistake. The racially disparate enforcement of marijuana laws has only made it worse, with serious consequences, particularly for communities of color…

The MORE Act would make three important changes to federal law. It would: remove marijuana, or cannabis, from the list of federally controlled substances; authorize the provision of resources, funded by a federal tax on marijuana sales, to address the needs of communities that have been seriously impacted by the War on Drugs, including increasing the participation of communities of color in the burgeoning cannabis market; and provide for the expungement of Federal marijuana convictions and arrests. Whatever one’s views are on the use of marijuana for recreational or medicinal use, the policy of arrests, prosecution, and incarceration at the Federal level has proven unwise and unjust.”

House Rules Committee Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) expressed opposition to this bill in committee:

“While there may be bipartisan will for marijuana policy reform, this bill misses the mark. Taking such a consequential step as fully legalizing marijuana is deeply concerning and is not something I can support. Furthermore, putting forward such a dramatically flawed bill makes partisan an issue that could potentially be bipartisan. As this committee is well aware, marijuana is often a gateway drug, leading to the use of harder drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Easing access to marijuana, even while regulating and taxing its purchase, will do nothing to alleviate that concern, and it may in fact ultimately accelerate damage to society. While there is space for bipartisan solutions to this problem, putting forward legislation in a take it or leave it fashion does not achieve that goal… 

A better approach at the federal level would be to provide appropriate guidance and regulations for states that have chosen to decriminalize marijuana or make it available for medical use. Thirty-seven states, including my home state of Oklahoma, allow for medical use of cannabis products, and 18 states allow for recreational use. It would be a more productive use of everyone’s time to bring up a bill like the STATES Reform Act, which has significant Republican support and would allow states to make decisions about marijuana without federal interference with state laws. We could also bring up my friend Ed Perlmutter’s SAFE Banking Act, which would address access to banking services for cannabis-related businesses. These bills would be a more measured and safer approach toward marijuana than the blanket descheduling and decriminalization that we are considering today, particularly given the lack of a legislative process to guide us in our deliberations.”

This legislation passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 26-15 vote, with all Democrats and two Republicans — Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) — voting in favor.

Of Note: As of March 2022, 37 states allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes and 18 have legalized it for recreational use.

Media:

• House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) Committee Statement
• House Rules Committee Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) Committee Statement (Opposed)
• Causes (116th Congress Version)

Summary by Eric Revell and Lorelei Yang

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / Nastasic)