“The criminalization of marijuana is a cornerstone of the racist war on drugs. Even after a decade of reform victories, one person was arrested nearly every minute last year for simply possessing marijuana,” said Maritza Perez, Director of the Office of National Affairs. “The House took the most powerful step forward to address that shameful legacy. But the MORE Act as passed is imperfect, and we will continue to demand more until our communities have the world they deserve.”
As the MORE Act moved through the political process, language impacting people with criminal legal system involvement was added to the final version of the bill. Those provisions disallow people with marijuana convictions from potentially fully participating in the industry at the federal level. Language was also added intentionally limiting resentencing and expungement relief to “nonviolent” marijuana offenses. DPA is committed to working with next year’s Congress to remove these additions and pass a bill that fully aligns with our principles.
“Getting to this point definitely gives us hope, but the fight is far from over. We will continue to build support for an even stronger, and more inclusive bill in the next session,” said Queen Adesuyi, Policy Manager for the Office of National Affairs. “We are grateful that members of Congress have rightly come to the realization that the drug war has exacerbated the racial injustices in this country and ending marijuana prohibition is a concrete tangible action they can take to benefit our communities now.”
DPA has worked tirelessly to move the MORE Act forward since its inception, by working with House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and Senator Kamala Harris to draft and introduce the legislation, creating the Marijuana Justice Coalition to build widespread support, and pushing for a Judiciary Committee mark-up amid a busy impeachment trial.