The US House of Representatives has voted to decriminalize marijuana

[CentralMass]

Last edited Fri Apr 1, 2022, 09:40 PM - Edit history (1)

https://share.newsbreak.com/s8jewwe8

I wonder if Manchin is wringing his hands ready to kill it in the senate ?

[BlueJac]

1. Mean Joe Manchin will have none of that!

He likes the right to pollute more!

[jalan48]

2. Smartest thing Dems have done in years.

[secondwind]

3. It's the right thing to do!!!

[Hortensis]

4. The MORE bill is only one of at least 4 bills addressing legalization,

so if this one doesn't pass the senate it could be because support is lining up behind another/others. One of them, the States Reform Act, originates on the Republican side but isn't a mere pretend. Another significant Democratic bill, stirringly named the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, may be introduced by April, and another deals with business/financial impediments to legalized marijuana.

I grabbed this for a suggestion of some of the differences between the first three, at least to suggest the KIND of things that differentiate. There are others, of course.

The States Reform Act imposes a significantly lower tax rate, with the MORE Act taxing cannabis at 5% and increasing to 8% over three years. Meanwhile, the CAOA taxes cannabis at 10% and increases to 25% over five years.

The tax revenue is also dedicated to different purposes, with the MORE Act and CAOA dedicating more tax revenue to social equity programs. The States Reform Act lacks the dedication to social equity programs present in the MORE Act and CAOA. However, the States Reform Act does dedicate some revenue to mental health, addiction, and second chance programs.

The States Reform Act does not protect immigrants from deportation for cannabis-related offenses and does not prevent non-veteran recipients of federal benefits from being disqualified due to cannabis use.

Apparently there are structural reasons why bipartisan support for legalization hasn't been enough to get this done. State laws are so all over the place that a federal legalization law may actually make things worse in some places (in ways I didn't try to understand when reading about it). Creating opportunity for creation and takeover by a Big Marijuana industry's a concern.