On Friday, House Democrats gleefully passed a bill that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level in the “MORE Act.” The vote was mainly on party-lines, with a few moderate “Republicans” or “RINOs” voting for the act, while Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) backed it as well. Six Democrats opposed the bill. It passed the House on a vote of 228-164.
The five Republicans who voted for it included outgoing “moderate” Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA), who lost his primary to a pro-Trump Republican, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who claims to support President Trump, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), who represents a district where many marijuana advocates live, which includes Yosemite National Park, anti-gun Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), and Rep. Don Young (R-AK), who serves as the dean of the House voted in favor of the far-left bill.
Democrats who voted against it include Reps. Sherry Bustos (D-IL), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Conor Lamb (D-PA), outgoing member Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Chris Pappas (D-NH), and outgoing member Collin Peterson (D-MN).
Democrats have faced fierce criticism from the Republican side for focusing on vanity legislation like the marijuana bill, while the COVID-19 bill is still stalled in the chamber.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) said the chamber has to “have a serious discussion on this — and not a mishmash of ideas and hopes instead of data-driven science.”
“Come on man — families are losing their livelihoods, people are hurting,” said Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN).
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) tried to make the marijuana bill a race issue, writing on Twitter, “people of color are 4X more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than White people despite equal usage. They’re also more likely to receive longer & harsher sentences.”
The bill is sure to face a sudden death in the U.S. Senate.