And while the vote largely fell along partisan lines, there was at least one notable “no” on the Republican side: Rep.
Not only did his office circulate a letter to other GOP offices ahead of a House Rules Committee hearing on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act, outlining the reasons for his opposition after attempting to work with the sponsor on revisions, but he also penned an op-ed for Marijuana Moment going into further detail about his stance on the bill ahead of the floor vote.
Even so, the “no” vote from a leader of Cannabis Caucus raised some questions about the utility of the bipartisan group whose aim is to see past disagreements on other issues while uniting on cannabis reform.
“But we sometimes have to agree to disagree—and, unfortunately, that happened this time,” the congresswoman said.
“And I’m glad the press doing this so that we can continue to move forward.
“He was formerly a prosecutor, and the work that he’s done with us to this point represents, I think, a real awareness and growth with this issue,” the congressman said.
The Democratic Cannabis Caucus co-chairs, for their part, expressed optimism that the momentum coming out of Friday’s vote will soon lead to comprehensive marijuana reform at the federal level.
Several members honored the congressman—who also fought against cannabis criminalization and died at the age of 88 two weeks ago—during Friday’s floor proceedings.