Cannabis legalization bill set for historic U.S. House vote
Yahoo Finance’s Jessica Smith joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel to discuss The MORE Act which decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level, as it's scheduled for a full floor vote this week.
Video Transcript
ZACK GUZMAN: Well, a breakthrough moment for hopes of cannabis legalization is quickly approaching, with the House slated to vote for the first time in our nation's history on a bill that would legalize cannabis and expunge certain cannabis offenses in VP-elect Kamala Harris's MORE Act. And for more on how that vote is shaping up, let's bring in Yahoo Finance's Jessica Smith here. And Jess, the vote was postponed once earlier this year, but any more clarity now on when we should expect it?
JESSICA SMITH: We don't know exactly when this is going to be yet sometime later this week. I talked to one Democratic aide yesterday who said it was looking like Friday, but we're still waiting on that exact timing. But this bill would end the federal prohibition of marijuana and expunge many cannabis-related offenses.
As you mentioned, this is the first time such a bill has been up for a vote in the full House, so it is a really big moment for legalization advocates. Ending the federal prohibition would leave it up to states to set their own marijuana policies and would end that conflict that we currently see between state and federal law.
The bill would also put a 5% tax on marijuana and marijuana products. And that revenue would go towards programs for job training, reentry, substance abuse treatment, and other kinds of programs for people who have been, quote, "adversely affected by the war on drugs." Now Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California worked on that specific piece of the legislation. And she talked to me about why she thinks it's so important. Let's watch.
BARBARA LEE: If you've done your time and you get out, you should be provided for a second chance. That's one issue. But secondly, when you've been incarcerated or when you have a record based on unjust laws that are really targeted, in many ways, Black and brown people, then you've got to make restitution you've got to repair the damage. And so this fund is about the time that was lost because of barriers to employment.
JESSICA SMITH: The bill would also open up certain opportunities for marijuana businesses, like Small Business Administration funding. As you mentioned, this bill was postponed earlier in this year. It was supposed to happen before the election, but leaders postponed it reportedly because some members in tight races were concerned about how voters would react to them moving forward on this bill before there's a COVID relief bill.
And now, about a month after the election, there is still no stimulus package. And we are seeing Republicans hit Democrats for moving forward on this legislation when COVID relief still is not done. But Democrats I've talked to say that they've already passed two versions of the HEROES Act, so it's the president and it's the Republican Senate who are holding up stimulus relief.
But now, this bill, if it does pass the House, faces an uphill battle in the Senate. I talked to several people who said they know it's going to be an uphill battle, but it does send a message that this is what many people want. I did talk to Congressman Earl Blumenauer, who said senators who don't back this will ultimately pay a political price with voters because he says it's so clear this is what the nation wants.
