US House reportedly will delay marijuana legalization vote until after election

A bill to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and thereby legalize the plant federally won’t be voted on by the U.S. House next week or before the Nov. 3 election, according to a report Thursday.

“House Dems have punted a vote on a marijuana legalization bill to the lame duck (session),” tweeted Sarah Ferris, a congressional reporter for Politico.

She wrote that “many moderates were furious that the House would vote on weed before taking up a COVID bill, though other Dems called it a social justice imperative.”

According to Politico, Congress will return after the election for a lame duck session, and lawmakers and aides have said a vote will occur on the legislation then.

The staff of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer couldn’t immediately be reached to confirm the report.

Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, had notified colleagues in an email in late August of plans to vote on the bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, next week.

MORE is a comprehensive measure that would have massive business implications. It also seeks to address social justice issues.

The House Judiciary Committee approved the MORE Act in a historic vote last November. But passage by the full House would be a milestone for marijuana reform.

Industry insiders said House passage of the bill would set the stage for a similar measure to pass the Senate as soon as next year – if the Senate flips to Democrats in November.

As of Thursday, the MORE Act had 111 co-sponsors in the House, up from 87 since Hoyer’s email in late August, but still just one Republican, Matt Gaetz of Florida.

The measure calls for a 5% federal tax on marijuana products that would be directed to programs that would benefit individuals and communities most impacted by the war on drugs.

Republican leadership had criticized the move to vote on the legislation as soon as it was announced in late August.

Michele Perez Exner, communications director for House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, especially was sharp in a tweet: “In the midst of a pandemic associated with a respiratory tract infection, this is what Dem leaders have decided to make their priority.”