BOYLE STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MARIJUANA OPPORTUNITY REINVESTMENT AND EXPUNGEMENT (MORE) ACT OF 2020

WASHINGTON – Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02) released the following statement after House passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2020. Congressman Boyle is a co-sponsor of the MORE Act, a bipartisan bill that decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level, while enabling states to set their own regulatory policies without threat of federal intervention.

"With a total of 47 states now having reformed their laws pertaining to marijuana use in one way or another, it is now time for Congress to take action at the federal level," Boyle said. This legislation will right the scales for people who have been imprisoned at a disproportionate rate for marijuana-related offenses; clear the way for patients to more readily obtain medical cannabis treatments; and ensure that the cannabis market will be an equal-opportunity industry moving forward."

The MORE Act takes long-overdue steps to address the devastating injustices of the criminalization of marijuana and the impact it has had on communities of color. The MORE Act would make three important changes to federal law:

• provide for the expungement of Federal marijuana convictions and arrests
• remove marijuana, or cannabis, from the list of federally controlled substances
• authorize the provision of resources, funded by an excise tax on marijuana, to address the needs of communities that have been seriously impacted by the War on Drugs, including increasing the participation of communities of color in the burgeoning cannabis market

The bill now moves to the Senate for approval.
###