It wasn’t an April Fools’ Day joke. By a vote of 220 to 204, including “yeas” from three Republicans, the House of Representatives passed the 89-page Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Empowerment Act (MORE) on April 1.

MORE would decriminalize cannabis at the Federal level. Although it has garnered support from legislators of both parties, the New York Times and other media organizations believe “it is unlikely to secure 60 votes to pass the Senate.” Republican support came from Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Brian Mast (R-FL) and Tom McClintock (R-CA). Other Republicans co-sponsored a similar bill introduced by Nancy Mace (R-SC).

H.R. 3617, sponsored by Rep. Jerome Nadler (D-NY) with 114 co-sponsors, declared that current prohibitions against marijuana have caused a “legacy of racial and ethnic injustices” that are still in effect, due to 80 years of prosecutions under current law.

Although 47 states and the District of Columbia have passed some form of marijuana reform, the Federal government still classifies cannabis or marijuana as a Class 1 controlled substance. Class 1 includes methamphetamines, heroin, LSD and peyote. Criminal penalties for marijuana can thus be the same as other drugs with much more potential for abuse and harm.

The bill would entirely remove cannabis from any schedule of controlled substances no longer than 180 days after the law goes into effect. The House-passed bill explains some of the economic consequences of the current federal law that are so much harsher than those passed by a total of 47 states. Thirty-seven state laws and the District of Columbia permit medical marijuana, and 15 have legalized the drug for “adult recreational use.”

Advocates of the bill believe it will be economically beneficial to states as well as the federal government. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found that “cannabis prohibition laws cost taxpayers approximately $3.6 billion per year and result in over 600,000 annual arrests.” The Congressional Budget Office says legalization would reduce the federal deficit by almost $3 billion over the next ten years.

Proponents of legalization also argue that it will help achieve social justice. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) said, “Make no mistake, this is a racial justice bill.” Many studies document how the criminalization of cannabis resulted in more than four times the arrests for people of color than whites, even though both populations use it at the same rate. The bill’s text states that Black men receive 13.1% longer sentences and Latino men get sentenced at a rate that is 6.5 times higher than non-Hispanic whites. Arrests for marijuana possession are also the fourth highest cause of deportation.

Sadly though, states that have legalized marijuana are not doing much to equalize its positive economic effects. The Bill text states that only one-fifth of sales licenses go to non-whites and only four percent of legal marijuana businesses have Black owners. It then compliments the few states that have taken steps to “mitigate the inequalities in the legal cannabis marketplace.”

H.R. 3617 also orders each Federal district to expunge each conviction of juvenile delinquency for non-violent Federal cannabis offenses since May 1971. It therefore allows “any individual who had an arrest or conviction under a federal cannabis law to “treat the arrest, conviction or adjudication as if it never occurred.”

It does, however, permit the continued drug testing of federal employees. It also orders the Bureau of Labor Statistics to keep extensive records about cannabis business owners and workers. Similarly, the Comptroller General will be required to study the “societal impact” of cannabis legalization each year.

Another feature of the bill would establish an “Opportunity Trust Fund,” which would help fund crime-fighting activities by the Attorney General, who is charged with creating a “Cannabis Justice Office.” The office will establish a grant program to provide help for “individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.” This will include job training, legal aid, and literacy programs, among other services.

The Small Business Administration will also receive funds to oversee MORE-related activities, including making loans to those who want to work in cannabis production, sales, or related activities.

The Trust Fund will receive funds from a five percent tax on marijuana products sold during the first two years after the Act becomes law, and the tax will increase each year by one percent until it reaches a total of eight percent of the “prevailing sales price.” There will be penalties for those who do not pay the required taxes. The bill goes into detail about taxing requirements for 35 pages and then explains there can be civil penalties of $10,000 for failure to comply with the required tax provisions as well as criminal penalties for fraud.

A similar bill did pass the House in 2020, but it did not fare as well in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the New York Times, “Of course we will need Republicans to pass a legalization bill in the Senate, and we will be working hard to try and get them.” Red states like Oklahoma, which the Times calls a “marijuana boom state,” and others that are benefitting from big tax infusions may help pass a bill that puts the federal government in line with the majority of states.