The House Just Approved Marijuana Legalization Again, but GOP Support Remains Nearly Nonexistent

The House of Representatives today approved a bill that would repeal the federal ban on marijuana by a vote of 220 to 204. The yes votes included 217 Democrats but just three Republicans, two fewer than voted for an earlier version of the bill, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, when the House approved it in December 2020.

The nearly nonexistent Republican support for the MORE Act in the House does not bode well for its chances in the Senate, where 10 Republican votes would be needed to overcome a filibuster even if Democrats unanimously supported the bill. The same goes for the legalization bill that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) plans to introduce next month.

The MORE Act and the draft bill that Schumer unveiled last July both include unnecessarily contentious provisions that are apt to alienate Republicans who might otherwise be inclined to resolve the conflict between federal prohibition and state laws that allow medical or recreational use of marijuana. Those provisions, which include new taxes, regulations, and spending programs, suggest that Democrats want credit for trying to legalize marijuana but are not really interested in building the bipartisan coalition that would be necessary to accomplish that goal.

When the House approved the MORE Act in 2020, it was the first time that either chamber of Congress had voted in favor of marijuana legalization. But as expected, the bill went nowhere in the Senate, which at the time was controlled by Republicans. The Senate is now evenly split between the two parties, with Democratic control hinging on Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. Any serious attempt to repeal federal prohibition therefore depends on attracting Republican support, which Democrats have made little effort to do. – READ MORE