House approves legislation to legalize marijuana
WASHINGTON — In a groundbreaking vote Friday, the House passed a bill legalizing marijuana — a symbolic gesture but one that reflected growing national sentiment in favor of decriminalizing the use, production and sale of cannabis.
The legislation, co-sponsored by half a dozen Texas Democrats, passed on a largely party-line vote, 228-164. Five Republicans joined Democrats in approving the legislation.
Six Democrats voted against it, including Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo, who presided over the House as it debated the bill.
It was the first time either chamber of Congress ever had endorsed the legalization of cannabis.
Although the measure is believed to have little or no chance in the Republican-controlled Senate, advocates for legalization said the House vote was a significant sign of how attitudes toward pot have shifted.
“It’s hard to overstate the significance of this bill receiving floor time,” said Justin Strekal, political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act would remove marijuana from the list of federally prohibited substances, tax legal sales of the drug and provide funds for states to clear the records of people convicted of nonviolent crimes involving marijuana.
The legislation also would require federal courts to expunge convictions and would impose a 5 percent tax on marijuana and mar
ijuana products to pay for job training, legal aid, literacy and other programs in communities most affected by the government's war on drugs.
The bill would allow the Small Business Administration to fund cannabis-related businesses and would require the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data on the demographics of the marijuana industry — part of an effort to ensure that people of color are able to participate in it.
Physicians with the Veterans Affairs Department would be allowed for the first time to recommend medical marijuana to their patients.
Cuellar, the lone Texas Democrat to oppose the measure, noted the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Texas Medical Association both oppose marijuana legalization.
Cuellar said he has heard from law enforcement officers in his district that they are worried about protecting the nation's southern border against drug syndicates.
He said “decriminalizing marijuana will increase the demand in the United
States, and therefore increase the illegal transportation of the drug.”
“At this time, we should let the states decide whether or not to decriminalize marijuana until we have evidence on its effects on public health and safety,” Cuellar said.
No Texas Republicans voted for the bill, and some argued it was the wrong to debate marijuana laws when coronavirus relief was on the line as the end of the congressional session approaches.
“We should be here doing the job of the American people — fighting for small businesses, instead of doing silly marijuana bills like Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi is doing today,” said U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a Central Texas Republican.
Democrats cast the legislation as an effort to compensate for decades of harsh drug policies that have disproportionately affected low-income communities of color.
Among the most impassioned advocates was Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat. She spoke of the damage the war on drugs has visited on neighborhoods like those she long has represented in Congress.
“In my community, a
bright young individual was killed because of marijuana, marijuana sales,” she said, referring to the Nov. 4 slaying of Ka'Darian Smith, a 22year-old former University of Houston football player. “This is what we want to see eliminated. We want a government structure that saves lives.”
Jackson Lee cited statistics showing that Black Americans are significantly more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession and face longer sentences than white Americans.
“We've watched not only the life lost in bloodshed, but the life lost in incarceration — imbalanced incarceration. Huge sentences,” she said. “The loss of opportunity of college, housing, of jobs. We are crying out for relief.”
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, a Democratic senator from California, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate. But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declined to bring to a vote even narrower legislation to allow banks to lend to marijuana businesses.
Fifteen states have legalized recreational cannabis, and medical marijuana is legal in 35 states.
In 2018, Texas legalized hemp, a variety of the cannabis plant.