In addition to descheduling, the MORE Act would require federal courts to purge convictions for cannabis-related offenses and allow re-sentencing for individuals with federal convictions.
It also seeks to right some of the wrongs inflicted on American citizens by the decades-long War on Drugs.
“We see overwhelming majorities of voters saying they want to repeal federal prohibition, yet we fear we won’t be able to get to a threshold of 60 votes in the Senate,” said Mike Robinette, director of the Arizona National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws .
Nixon began the modern era of the “War on Drugs” and three years before he created the Drug Enforcement Agency.
But starting with Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s and into the 1990s, the national policy pendulum swung the other way.
Over the course of the next 25 years, California’s action sparked a trend that spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012, Colorado and Washington voters legalized recreational cannabis use for adults.
The American Civil Liberties Union estimates the U.S.
And a 2021 Harris Poll found 66% of adults in favor, with younger generations more inclined to favor legalization: Nearly 80% of Gen X and Millennials backed legalizing marijuana, compared to 48% of Baby Boomers.
Debus, a Marine veteran who specializes in Veterans Administration benefits, helps many veterans with issues surrounding medical marijuana use.
It sought not only to legalize and deschedule cannabis, but also legislate remedies for the damage done by the War on Drugs.
Mark Kelly, who also supports the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow cannabis businesses access to banking services that are now illegal due to federal prohibitions.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act has been around in one form or another since 2013.
The bill was supposed to be introduced earlier this month, but Schumer last week said it likely wouldn’t be finalized until August.
On Oct.
“We urge the DOJ to initiate the process to decriminalize cannabis.
The Arizona Mirror, like the Idaho Capital Sun, is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c public charity.
After accepting a position as editor of the Arizona Silver Belt in Globe in 2018, he returned to Tucson the following year to enjoy the mountains and write about cannabis and community news.