{"id":1415366,"date":"2022-04-01T16:59:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T20:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1415366"},"modified":"2022-04-01T16:59:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T20:59:40","slug":"house-votes-to-legalize-marijuana-dems-applaud-it-as-racial-justice-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-votes-to-legalize-marijuana-dems-applaud-it-as-racial-justice-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"House Votes To Legalize Marijuana; Dems Applaud It As \u2018Racial Justice Bill\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-votes-to-legalize-marijuana-dems-applaud-it-as-racial-justice-bill%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1415366&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/04\/CE896F96-D971-4E52-8DF6-54FCB80EBE7C_1_201_a.jpeg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">On Friday, the House of Representatives voted to decriminalize cannabis and take marijuana off of the federal government\u2019s list of controlled substances.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/more_act_2021.pdf\"><span class=\"s2\">Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act<\/span><\/a> passed the lower chamber with a 220-204 vote, gaining some Republican votes. It is reportedly unlikely to get enough support to make it past the Senate \u2014 a threshold of 60 votes \u2014 but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) supports the legislation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\">The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/04\/01\/us\/politics\/marijuana-legalization.html\"><span class=\"s2\">reported<\/span><\/a> that the bill would<\/span> \u201cremove marijuana from the federal government\u2019s list of controlled substances, impose an 8 percent tax on cannabis products, allow some convictions on cannabis charges to be expunged and press for sentencing reviews at the federal and state levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Regarding small business loans, the bill stated that the administrator of the Small Business Administration \u201cshall establish and carry out a program, to be known as the \u2018Cannabis Restorative Opportunity Program\u2019, to provide loans and technical assistance\u2026to assist small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals that operate in eligible States or localities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It also stated that the administrator will create and operate a grant program called the \u201c\u2018Equitable Licensing Grant Program,\u2019 to provide any eligible State or locality funds to develop and implement equitable cannabis licensing programs that minimize barriers to cannabis licensing and employment for individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/04\/01\/house-passes-bill-decriminalizing-marijuana-senate-fortunes-unclear\/\">reported<\/a> that the Act would allow for legal cannabis sales to be regulated and taxed. \u201cIt also would provide for the expungement of federal marijuana convictions dating to 1971 and bars the denial of federal public benefits or security clearances on the basis of marijuana offenses,\u201d the outlet noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Republicans who voted for the bill were Representatives Matt Gaetz (FL), Brian Mast (FL), and Tom McClintock (CA). However, other Republicans have supported a similar bill by Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cI\u2019m respecting the process that the Democrats want to go through,\u201d Mace said, per The Times. She added, \u201cYou can save the federal government $600 million over five years, and it saves lives. It\u2019s an important issue. People care about it; the vast majority of Americans care about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">She voted against the Democratic measure, reportedly stating before she did so, \u201cI hope that I can be forgiven for voting against it. Because I want to continue. I want to work on this issue, but we have to work on it together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Democrats are framing the legislation as one that promotes \u201cracial justice.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/house-vote-bill-legalize-marijuana-rcna22527\"><span class=\"s5\">said<\/span><\/a>, \u201cThis landmark legislation is one of the most important criminal justice reform bills in recent history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cMake no mistake: Yes, it is a racial justice bill,\u201d Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/04\/01\/house-passes-bill-decriminalizing-marijuana-senate-fortunes-unclear\/\"><span class=\"s5\">said<\/span><\/a>. \u201cAccording to the ACLU, Black Americans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis and related crimes than White Americans, despite equal rates of use. These arrests can have a detrimental impact on a person\u2019s quality of life and can lead to difficulty finding employment, securing housing and accessing other benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The leading sponsor of the bill, Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), said it \u201cwould set a new path forward and would begin to correct some of the injustices of the last 50 years.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWhatever one\u2019s views are on the use of marijuana for recreational or medicinal use, the policy of arrests, prosecution, and incarceration at the federal level has proven both unwise and unjust,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">On Friday, House Republicans reportedly debated the legislation, saying it would result in more kids being exposed to the substance, and noted how it didn\u2019t address mental health problems in adults who use it. The point was also made how the country has deeper issues that need to be fixed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe left will not let the Democrats do what needs to be done with the inflation problem, the energy problem, the illegal immigration problem on the southern border,\u201d Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) said. \u201cSo what do they do? They legalize drugs. Wow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/04\/01\/house-passes-bill-decriminalizing-marijuana-senate-fortunes-unclear\/\"><span class=\"s5\">added<\/span><\/a>, \u201cThis is wrong and everybody knows it. \u2026 Let\u2019s focus on the things that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Many states have moved to change their laws regarding marijuana, with the bill noting that:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><i>37 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted laws allowing legal access to cannabis, and 15 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam have adopted laws legalizing cannabis for adult recreational use.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">It added that \u201c[a] total of 47 States have reformed their laws pertaining to cannabis despite the Schedule I status of marijuana and its Federal criminalization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest growing conservative media companies for breaking news, investigative reporting, sports, podcasts, in-depth analysis, books, and entertainment for a reason: because we believe in what we do. We believe in our country, in the value of truth and the freedom to speak it, and in the right to challenge tyranny wherever we see it. Believe the same? <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>Become a member now and join our mission.<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Friday, the House of Representatives voted to decriminalize cannabis and take marijuana off of the federal government\u2019s list of controlled substances.\u00a0The\u00a0Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act passed the lower<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1415366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1415366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1415366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1415366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1415366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1415366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1415366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}