End federal cannabis prohibition: Demand your lawmakers pass the MORE Act now

Write Your Letter Below

Here's the letter we'll send your Representative and Democratic leadership about the MORE Act, H.R. 3884:

As your constituent, I urge you to vote in favor of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019 (H.R. 3884) when it’s taken up by the House. This bill would deschedule marijuana and end federal prohibition in a fair way by reinvesting tax revenue into communities most affected by failed marijuana laws.

Marijuana law reform is more pressing than ever in the face of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and a growing national dialogue on unjust law enforcement practices. It provides an opportunity to contribute to economic recovery, and would reduce the burden on the criminal justice system that stem from marijuana charges and arrests. The MORE Act remains the most effective and equitable way forward.

The MORE Act does the following: 
-- Decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level by removing the substance from the Controlled Substances Act (descheduling), enabling states to set their own marijuana policies.
-- Requires federal courts to expunge marijuana arrests and convictions, and resentence those still in custody or under court supervision for a marijuana offense.
-- Prevents the government from denying an individual federal benefits, student financial aid, or security clearances needed to obtain government jobs because of marijuana use.
-- Authorizes the assessment of a 5% excise tax on marijuana sales at the manufacturer level to fund programs and services for communities most adversely impacted by the drug war, including legal services, job training, and substance use disorder treatment.
-- Funds equitable licensing programs so that states and localities can implement inclusive marijuana licensing systems that minimize barriers to marijuana licensing and employment for individuals most adversely impacted by drug prohibition.
-- Opens up Small Business Administration resources to support economically and socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs within the marijuana and marijuana-related marketplace to increase and help sustain diversity and inclusion.
-- Requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data on the demographics of the industry to ensure equitable participation.

In the face of COVID-19, the MORE Act is needed now more than ever before. Looking towards long-term economic recovery, we must remove barriers to employment for those who have lost jobs, create new businesses and employment opportunities to help replace those that have disappeared and that will not be coming back, and to raise billions of dollars in new tax revenue to off-set the devastating economic losses to state and local governments. The MORE Act would accomplish all of these goals through a 5% excise tax on marijuana sales at the manufacturer level. Every industry will have a role to play in rebuilding the U.S. economy after the pandemic, and a legal, regulated marijuana industry is no different. The MORE Act will ensure that this economic recovery opportunity is equitable and just.

Even more broadly, federal descheduling and expungement will drastically reduce the burden of marijuana charges and arrests in the criminal justice system. This bill would decriminalize marijuana and put in place resentencing processes for marijuana convictions. This would help begin the long overdue reversal of mass incarceration in the U.S. – which is more timely than ever given the mass mobilizations for justice reform and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging jails and prisons. The MORE Act focuses on creating community infrastructure and supports that diminish contact with the criminal justice system. The bill creates new funding streams for community reinvestment and economic uplift, with the added public health benefits of ending prohibition and incentivizing states to do the same while centering equity.

I hope you will vote for the MORE Act to ensure it passes the House this Congressional session. Thank you.

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End federal cannabis prohibition: Demand your lawmakers pass the MORE Act now

The U.S. House plans to vote on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement (MORE) Act the week of September 21st! It’s the first-ever comprehensive marijuana legalization bill to ever be considered for a full House floor vote.

The failed "War on Drugs" has targeted Black, Brown, and poor people and continues to tear our communities apart. The MORE Act would deschedule marijuana and end federal prohibition in a fair way by reinvesting tax revenue back into communities most affected by failed marijuana laws. It would support equitable licensing, allow for expungement of marijuana arrests and convictions, prevent deportation for marijuana offenses, and so much more.

Tell your House Representative to vote for the MORE Act to end the federal war on marijuana and repair the harms of prohibition.

Marijuana arrests also clog the criminal legal system. And as COVID-19 ravages jails and prisons, ending marijuana prohibition is more critical than ever in our fight for racial justice.

By supporting the MORE Act, we can help end mass incarceration, end the criminalization of Black and Brown people, and support communities of color ravaged by the "War on Drugs."

Tell your Representative: Black communities need MORE. Pass the MORE Act and end the prohibition of cannabis now.