House Set to Vote on National Marijuana Legalization Later This Month

At a time in which our nation could certainly use as much economic stimulus as it can get, the House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that could provide an enormous shot in the arm.

For decades, the idea of legalizing marijuana has gained momentum here in the US.  While a vast majority of our states have some form of legal or decriminalized weed in 2020, the plant remains illegal at the federal level due to what many believe are archaic laws from last century.

Given the massive financial successes of weed legalization in places like Colorado and Washington State, the issue is now coming to the nation’s capital…and perhaps not a minute too soon.

The Democratic-controlled House will vote on legalizing marijuana at the federal level for the first time in the chamber’s history later this month, a hurdle Democrats and advocates are celebrating as Congress grapples with a host of pressing issues before the November election.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House would vote on the MORE Act during the week of Sept. 21. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances and expunge some marijuana-related criminal records, though it would still be up to states to pass their own regulations on the sale of marijuana.

“It’s about time,” Nadler told USA TODAY, calling it a “historic vote” marking the beginning of the end of the federal government’s “40-year, very misguided crusade” against marijuana.

Outside of the massive monetary effect that such a change could bring to America, recent research has suggested that marijuana has a great deal of medical benefits that are just now coming to light.  This includes its use in the treatment of PTSD, as well as the plant’s proven ability to reduce the rate of opiate dependency among addicts.