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A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US House of Representatives, led by Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, have reintroduced legislation repealing the federal prohibition of cannabis and providing resources to assist in regulating the state-licensed cannabis industry.
House Bill 6028, The States Reform Act, removes cannabis from the US Controlled Substances Act, facilitates record expungement for those previously convicted of certain marijuana-related offenses, and provides regulatory oversight for state-legal cannabis markets.
The bill’s reintroduction comes just weeks after Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler reintroduced legislation, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, that also seeks to repeal federal marijuana prohibition. House members have twice passed The MORE Act, but members of the Senate have never considered the bill.
It is unlikely that newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will prioritize either measure. Representative Johnson has repeatedly voted against proposed legislative changes in federal marijuana policy, and he has criticized Democratic leadership for advancing similar measures, particularly The MORE Act.
Last November, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano testified before the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, previously chaired by Rep. Mace, in support of ending federal cannabis prohibition.
