WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) released the following statement on the U.S. House of Representatives passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act:
“As we mark fifty years of the devastating war on drugs it is past time for Congress to catch up with the public and majority of states who have legalized some form of cannabis, and pass legislation to decriminalize the adult-use of recreational cannabis.
The MORE Act decriminalizes cannabis at the federal level and provides restorative justice for communities which have suffered from the disproportionate and deliberate enforcement of cannabis prohibitions. Today’s vote to pass the MORE Act in the U.S. House of Representatives is one step to ending the deplorable, misguided war on drugs. It is also a critical turning point.
I have spent time talking to parents of children with seizure disorders, veterans suffering from PTSD, small businesses, and the very communities who have been unfairly impacted by the war on drugs, and they all agree: the federal government must end the failed prohibition on marijuana.
Today’s passage of the MORE Act brings us one step closer to winning the fight.”
For those unable to join today’s joint press conference on the passage of the MORE Act with Representatives Barbara Lee and Jerrod Nadler, here is the full recording.
Source: Congressman Blumenauer’s office