WASHINGTON – The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation legalizing marijuana at the federal level Friday, the first time either chamber of Congress has voted on the matter.
The bill, the MORE Act, passed by a mostly party-line 228-164 vote. The Republican-controlled Senate is unlikely to take up the legislation.
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. It would still be up to states to pass their own regulations on the sale of marijuana.
Nadler said in a statement the legislation would help address the "mistake" of marijuana's criminalization and its "racially disparate enforcement."
"This long-overdue legislation would reverse the failed policy of criminalizing marijuana on the federal level and would take steps to address the heavy toll this policy has taken across the country, particularly on communities of color," he said.
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