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The House sponsor of a bill to federally legalize marijuana that is scheduled to be taken up for a floor vote in Congress for the second time in history<\/a> next week has partnered with a recently established cannabis-focused political action committee to get out the word about the upcoming action and to raise campaign funds for the upcoming election.<\/p>\n The Better Organizing to Win Legalization (BOWL) PAC sent out the joint fundraising email on Friday authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). It calls attention to next week\u2019s planned vote on his Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act and asks supporters to donate to both the PAC and the congressman\u2019s campaign committee ahead of a filing deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I am pleased to report that we have never been closer to ending the federal prohibition of cannabis than we are today,\u201d Nadler wrote.<\/p>\n He touted the fact that the MORE Act was the first-ever congressional bill to end marijuana prohibition to clear the chamber in 2020. The Senate declined to take it up last session, however, so it was reintroduced and advanced through the chairman\u2019s panel again in September.<\/p>\n Via BOWL PAC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The House Rules Committee will officially take up the measure in a meeting\u00a0on Monday afternoon to prepare it for floor action, including by determining which amendments will be allowed to advance for consideration.<\/p>\n When it comes to enacting the reform this session, Nadler said that he \u201ccannot do it alone. BOWL PAC and I have a crucial filing deadline coming up, and your support sends a message that reformers win, prohibitionists lose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor years, BOWL PAC\u2019s Justin Strekal and I have worked together on this vital issue and together we have made historic progress in advancing cannabis reform in Congress. Now more than ever, the mission is clear: we\u2019re going to end prohibition,\u201d the chairman wrote. \u201cBut just saying that provides little solace to the 959 people a day who are arrested for a marijuana-related crime.\u201d<\/p>\n (Disclosure: Strekal supports Marijuana Moment\u2019s work through a monthly pledge on Patreon<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \u201cThat is why we must simultaneously keep pressure on the House and do whatever it takes to overcome the Senate filibuster and Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s prohibitionist Republican front,\u201d Nadler concluded. \u201cI\u2019ll continue to do my part in the House and I know Justin and BOWL PAC will do theirs in the Senate this fall.\u201d<\/p>\n While Democrats do hold a majority in the Senate, the chances of the MORE Act moving through that chamber are unclear, especially considering that leadership is preparing to formally introduce their own separate legalization proposal next month<\/a>. The measures are fundamentally similar, however, so it stands to reason that lawmakers may negotiate ways to merge various provisions. But the prospects of rounding up enough votes to advance any form of broad cannabis legislation through the body are questionable.<\/p>\n Strekal, who served as the political director of NORML<\/a> for five years before branching out to start the BOWL PAC<\/a>, told Marijuana Moment that the organization is \u201chonored to be able to work so closely with key leaders like Chairman Nadler.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis marks a new era of coordination between the cannabis reform movement and candidates working to elect a full Congress that will end prohibition once and for all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2014 The last time the MORE Act went to the floor in December 2020, it passed in a 228-164 vote, with just five Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in advancing the reform. One of those five GOP members, Rep. Don Young (R-AK),\u00a0died last week<\/a>. He was one of bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.<\/p>\n The move to hold another vote on the cannabis legalization bill comes weeks after\u00a0congressional Democrats held a closed-to-press session at a party retreat<\/a>\u00a0that included a panel that largely centered on the reform legislation.<\/p>\n In addition to descheduling marijuana, the MORE Act would further allow people with past convictions to have their records expunged and create a federal tax on cannabis with the revenue going to support community reinvestment and other programs.<\/p>\n It also contains language to create a pathway for resentencing for those incarcerated for cannabis offenses, protect immigrants from being denied citizenship over marijuana and prevent federal agencies from denying public benefits or security clearance due to its use.<\/p>\n Besides the MORE Act and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer\u2019s (D-NY) Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA), a separate bill to tax and regulate marijuana is also in play this session. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is sponsoring that legislation, and she said in a recent interview that she\u2019s received assurances from Democratic leaders that her States Reform Act will receive a hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read Nadler\u2019s full email to the BOWL PAC list below:<\/strong><\/p>\n SUBJECT: My name is Jerry Nadler and I support legalization<\/p>\n Friend.<\/p>\n As the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I am pleased to report that we have never been closer to ending the federal prohibition of cannabis than we are today.<\/p>\n Next week, the House will again vote on my Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act, the first bill ever to receive a vote and PASS in a chamber of Congress that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.<\/p>\n But I cannot do it alone. BOWL PAC and I have a crucial filing deadline coming up, and your support sends a message that reformers win, prohibitionists lose.<\/a><\/p>\n \u2026<\/p>\n For years, BOWL PAC\u2019s Justin Strekal and I have worked together on this vital issue and together we have made historic progress in advancing cannabis reform in Congress.<\/p>\n Now more than ever, the mission is clear: we\u2019re going to end prohibition.<\/p>\n But just saying that provides little solace to the 959 people a day who are arrested for a marijuana-related crime. That is why we must simultaneously keep pressure on the House and do whatever it takes to overcome the Senate filibuster and Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s prohibitionist Republican front.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll continue to do my part in the House and I know Justin and BOWL PAC will do theirs in the Senate this fall.<\/p>\n Will you do your part and chip in today to support us both?<\/a><\/p>\n Yours in ending federal prohibition,<\/p>\n Jerry Nadler<\/p>\n Chairman New Jersey Governor Says Marijuana Sales Only \u2018Weeks\u2019 Away, Even After Regulators Delay Approvals<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Top Congressman And Pro-Legalization BOWL PAC Send Joint Fundraising Email Ahead Of House Marijuana Vote<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The House sponsor of a bill to federally legalize marijuana that is scheduled to be taken up for a floor vote in Congress for the second time in history next week has partnered with a recently established cannabis-focused political action committee to get out the word about the upcoming actionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":53826,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53825"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53827,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53825\/revisions\/53827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Screen-Shot-2022-03-25-at-12.58.38-PM-1024x717-1.png\")
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\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nHouse Judiciary Committee<\/p>\n\n
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\nRead More: Top Congressman And Pro-Legalization BOWL PAC Send Joint Fundraising Email Ahead Of House Marijuana Vote<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"