House Democrats were poised Friday to pass a bill legalizing marijuana throughout the nation, but its future remains hazy, with Republicans mostly opposed.
The bill would make marijuana legal on the federal level and help roll back the so-called war on drugs that has disproportionately targeted people of color.
“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 both unwise and unjust,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., a key sponsor of the bill, said Friday.
The measure, known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, would snuff out all criminal penalties linked to marijuana and establish a process to expunge old convictions from records. It would also impose a federal tax on the legal sales of the drug.
The bill is expected to pass the House along party lines. Still, it faces a cloudy future due to Republican opposition in the evenly divided Senate, in which 60 votes are needed to override a potential filibuster.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he plans to bring the bill up for an up-or-down vote, which may pressure some lawmakers to take a stand.
There is little doubt that legalization is widely popular with voters, with large majorities in both parties supporting it in recent polls.
At least 18 states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use of marijuana. Some 37 states allow weed for medical use.
“Americans have made their support for cannabis legalization abundantly clear. Now it is time for Congress to take action and finally put an end to the failed policy of prohibition,” said Toi Hutchinson, president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group.
