- The US House of Representatives voted for the first time on a bill to decriminalize cannabis.
- The bill, called the MORE Act, is expected to face a harder trial in the Senate, which has a Republican majority.
- The MORE Act’s passage in the House comes just one month after five states voted on cannabis-legalization measures on November 3.
- Business Insider put together this comprehensive tracker to explain the MORE Act, various ballot measures, the timelines we should expect for rollout, and which companies are best positioned for the new markets.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill that would decriminalize cannabis on the federal level, just one month after voters passed marijuana legalization in four states and medical marijuana legalization in Mississippi.
The bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, would end criminal penalties for anyone who sells cannabis in states where that’s legal, decriminalize the use of cannabis throughout the US, and formally allow states to chart their own course in establishing commercial marijuana sales if it becomes law.
The legislation is expected to face an uphill battle in the Senate if Republicans hold on to their majority after the Georgia runoffs in January.
The passage of the bill in the House comes just two days after the United Nations voted to reschedule cannabis and acknowledged the plant has therapeutic value and is not “liable to produce ill-effects.” In the US elections on November 3, five states voted to legalize cannabis in some form, meaning that every single cannabis initiative up for a vote passed.
New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota, and Montana voted in favor of legalizing cannabis for all adults over the age of 21. South Dakota also passed a medical cannabis measure, as did deep-red Mississippi.
To the cannabis industry, New Jersey presents the biggest opportunity. Companies are racing to take advantage of the New Jersey market, which has millions of prospective consumers within the state, as well as easy access to New York City and Philadelphia.
Since Colorado and Washington broke ground in 2012 as the first US states to legalize recreational cannabis, 13 states and Washington D.C., have joined them. Medical marijuana will be legal in 36 states, meaning that a majority of Americans now have some form of access to legal marijuana.
Ballot initiatives like the ones voters considered on November 3 have played a major role in the spread of legal cannabis. The vast majority of states that legalized recreational marijuana did so through referendums.
Though Canada legalized cannabis federally in 2018, the US has not followed suit, and marijuana is considered a Schedule I drug by the US federal government despite the fact that more than two-thirds of Americans have some form of legal access to marijuana.
A historic vote in the House, but a slim chance in a Republican-controlled Senate
The MORE Act’s passage in the House, though historic, is largely seen as a symbolic move reflective of changing attitudes in the way that politicians see cannabis.
It’s still not clear which party will control the Senate, though the two Democrats up for runoff elections in Georgia during a January 5 special election have voiced support for cannabis decriminalization. Even if both Democrats cinch victories, however, it’s not clear their buy-in would be enough to win the 50 votes needed in the next Congress to clear the MORE Act in the upper chamber.
Jeffries analyst Owen Bennett says that at this point, legal cannabis is so widespread that the federal government should be aware of the risks associated with not overseeing the market, as well as the tax revenue from legal marijuana sales it’s leaving on the table.
“What’s more, this is an area which clearly has bi-partisan support among all voters,” Bennett continued. “Of the five states that voted in favor of rec and/or medical legalization, Mississippi, South Dakota and Montana were all Republican wins.”
A recent Gallup poll shows that 68% of Americans, including 79% of 18-29-year-olds, support legalizing marijuana.
To put together this ballot tracker, Business Insider tapped a variety of sources to explain the nuances of each state’s ballot measures and where polling stood prior to the votes. We’ve also included market-size projections to give a sense of how important each state could become for businesses and investors.
Here’s everything you need to know about the cannabis ballot measures that are set to propel a new wave of legalization:
This article was published on October 9. It has been updated with election results and the results of the House vote on the MORE Act on December 4.
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