Evans: House Passes Landmark Cannabis Bill, the MORE Act

WASHINGTON (Dec. 4, 2020) – Congressman Dwight Evans (PA-03) welcomed today's House passage of a landmark cannabis bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. The bill includes Evans' Homegrown Act, which would help small businesses and people of color share in the booming cannabis industry.

"The MORE Act is a jobs bill and a criminal justice reform bill," Evans said. "And with the pandemic-fueled recession, America needs jobs! Legal cannabis sales totaled $9.5 billion in 2017 and are projected to reach $23 billion by 2022. Let's get the federal government out of the way by decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level."

Evans noted that four more states voted last month to outright legalize adult-use cannabis, bringing the total to 15 states, plus Washington, D.C., where legalization is in effect or is pending, as it is in New Jersey. To date, Pennsylvania has only legalized medical marijuana, in 2016. The federal government hasn't decriminalized cannabis or even allowed medical use, even though the laws of 36 states and Washington, D.C. allow medical use. The most recent Pew Research Center poll on the subject, released at the end of 2019, showed 67 percent support for marijuana legalization, up 5 percent from the year before.

"The federal government needs to catch up, and so does Pennsylvania. The MORE Act would represent real reform at the federal level," Evans said. "The federal government criminalized marijuana in 1937 and has passed no significant reforms in the 83 years since. That's ridiculous. The MORE Act's decriminalization is a good place to start on reform."

According to the ACLU, enforcing cannabis prohibition laws costs taxpayers about $3.6 billion a year. The continued enforcement of these laws results in over 600,000 arrests a year. This has a disproportionately impact on people of color, who are almost four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than their white counterparts, despite equal rates of use across populations.

Evans said the MORE Act would make several important reforms:

• Remove marijuana, or cannabis, from the list of federally controlled substances;
• Authorize the provision of resources, funded by an excise tax on marijuana, to address the needs of communities that have been seriously impacted by the War on Drugs, including increasing the participation of communities of color in the booming cannabis market; and
• Provide for the expungement of federal marijuana convictions and arrests.

The MORE Act would also establish an Opportunity Trust Fund to provide funding for:

• Services to individuals, including job training, reentry services and substance use disorder services;
• Loans to assist small businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; and
• Programs that minimize barriers to marijuana licensing and employment for individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, including in states like Pennsylvania that currently have only legalized medical marijuana. This provision is because of the inclusion of Evans' Homegrown Act.

"The MORE Act would represent a major change once we can get it enacted into law, and I'm pleased the House has taken this important, bipartisan step that shows the bill can pass. The two-thirds of Americans who want these reforms should let their senators know.

"State laws like Pennsylvania's prohibition also need to be changed – hopefully legalization next door in New Jersey will show Harrisburg that the days of ‘reefer madness' need to end. Jobs and people's ability to live free of unnecessary criminal records are at stake."

Evans represents Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Northwest and West Philadelphia and parts of North, South, Southwest and Center City Philadelphia.

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