House to vote on removing cannabis from list of controlled substances

Authored by thehill.com and submitted by lucynyu13

The House will vote on legislation next month to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and erase some marijuana criminal records.

The bill would not legalize the drug, which would be left up to states, but the vote will still be a historic step in the effort to reduce legal penalties related to the drug. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said in an email to members that the vote will take place during the September work period.

BREAKING: The U.S. House will vote on a bill to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

Vote date TBD. pic.twitter.com/wTF0m2QZf6 — Natalie Fertig (@natsfert) August 28, 2020

Marijuana is already legal in 11 states.

The vote would be the first taken by either chamber of Congress to take marijuana off the Controlled Substances Act.

Cannabis is currently listed as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning there’s a high chance for abuse and no medical benefits. Removing it under the act would eliminate the federal prohibition on the drug but leave in place state laws making it illegal.

It would also expunge criminal records and provide grant funding for people who have been negatively impacted by enforcement of marijuana laws.

The bill was first introduced by House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerHouse to vote on removing cannabis from list of controlled substances Trump victory could oust Nancy Pelosi as Speaker The Hill's Convention Report: Mike and Karen Pence set to headline third night of convention MORE (D-N.Y.) last fall and passed the panel by a 24-10 vote in November. It passed the committee with the votes of GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz Matthew (Matt) GaetzHouse to vote on removing cannabis from list of controlled substances The Hill's 12:30 Report: Sights and sounds from GOP convention night 1 Gaetz uses convention speech to criticize Biden for lack of activity MORE (Fla.) and Tom McClintock Thomas (Tom) Milller McClintockHouse to vote on removing cannabis from list of controlled substances House votes to remove Confederate statues from Capitol Cook shifts 20 House districts toward Democrats MORE (Calif.). It is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.

The vote comes amid a national reckoning over systemic racism and police brutality, with racial justice advocates noting the disproportionate enforcement of marijuana laws against people of color.

temporary1953 on August 29th, 2020 at 03:05 UTC »

This is a very smart move politically for the Democrats. They will vote to remove and then the Senate will bury the bill and not allow it to come up for a vote in the Senate. And that will piss people off. It will end up hurting GOP Senatorial candidates in the election. Cannabis legalization is a very popular issue, with a substantial majority of voters in favor. And that is even more true of younger voters, who are already moving away from the GOP. This is a brilliant move.

smagmite on August 29th, 2020 at 02:53 UTC »

Do it. I'm tired of my tax dollars being wasted in this.

lucynyu13 on August 29th, 2020 at 02:42 UTC »

"The bill would not legalize the drug, which would be left up to states, but the vote will still be a historic step in the effort to reduce legal penalties related to the drug. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said in an email to members that the vote will take place during the September work period.

Marijuana is already legal in 11 states."