(CNN) The House has voted with a slim bipartisan majority to federally decriminalize marijuana.
The vote was 220 to 204. Republicans Tom McClintock of California, Brian Mast and Matt Gaetz, both of Florida, joined the majority of Democrats in supporting the bill, while Democrats Henry Cuellar of Texas and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire voted against.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, will prevent federal agencies from denying federal workers security clearances for cannabis use, and will allow the Veterans' Administration to recommend medical marijuana to veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder, plus gains revenue by authorizing a sales tax on marijuana sales.
The bill also expunges the record of people convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, "can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and career indefinitely."
"It can result in difficulty finding employment, difficulty finding housing, denial of access of federal benefits, denial of financial aid at colleges and universities, and denial of the right to vote," Hoyer said. "That's why we're dealing with this."
somanyroads on April 1st, 2022 at 19:24 UTC »
*for the second time
Just keeping it real...the Senate killed it last time by not acting on it. Happens to a lot of legislation, sadly: the House is oftentimes more politically polarized and passes more liberal (or more conservative) bills than the Senate will consider...so they just go away.
But it's sending a clear message that this issue isn't going away, and had the broad support of Americans.
garrettf04 on April 1st, 2022 at 18:16 UTC »
This feels like an April Fool's joke because it's just going to die in the senate.
baseballdnd on April 1st, 2022 at 17:36 UTC »
But now senate has to agree on something......so.....