ACLU Issues Statement on House Passage of MORE Act

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, HR 3617 today.

Aamra Ahmad, American Civil Liberties Union senior policy counsel, issued the following statement regarding today’s vote:

“We applaud the House for today’s passage of the MORE Act. For over 50 years, the failed war on drugs has deepened racial injustice, shattered neighborhoods, and decimated communities. Though marijuana use is roughly equal among Black and white people, Black people are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C. have already legalized marijuana, yet extreme racial disparities persist and communities of color have not benefited from legalization, despite being targeted by the war on drugs.

“The MORE Act will tackle racial disparities head-on by decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, expunging marijuana convictions, and reducing sentences. Federal decriminalization will give states the freedom to regulate marijuana and implement reforms — it is the right way to legalize marijuana. Now that the House has taken this significant step, we will fight in the Senate to pass legislation that decriminalizes marijuana and implements criminal and social justice reforms that will aid communities that were most impacted by criminalization.”

The ACLU is scoring the vote on passage of the MORE Act in the organization’s scorecard, available online here.