HR3884, the House bill, has reached 45 cosponsors as of Friday!  This is not bad, but none of our 13 Representatives in NC are on that list.

S2227, the Senate bill, has 5 cosponsors and neither Burr nor Tillis are on that list.

Here are some of the important details of the Act from Sponsor Rep Nadler’s press release https://tinyurl.com/NadlerPressMORE

• Decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level by removing the substance from the Controlled Substances Act. This applies retroactively to prior and pending convictions, and enables states to set their own policy.

• Requires federal courts to expunge prior convictions, allows prior offenders to request expungement, and requires courts, on motion, to conduct re-sentencing hearings for those still under supervision.

• Authorizes the assessment of a 5% sales tax on marijuana and marijuana products to create an Opportunity Trust Fund, which includes three grant programs:
  • The Community Reinvestment Grant Program: Provides services to the individuals most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, including job training, re-entry services, legal aid, literacy programs, youth recreation, mentoring, and substance use treatment.  

• • The Cannabis Opportunity Grant Program: Provides funds for loans to assist small businesses in the marijuana industry that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

• • The Equitable Licensing Grant Program: Provides funds for programs that minimize barriers to marijuana licensing and employment for the individuals most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.

• Opens up Small Business Administration funding for legitimate cannabis-related businesses and service providers.

• Provides non-discrimination protections for marijuana use or possession, and for prior convictions for a marijuana offense:
  • Prohibits the denial of any federal public benefits (including housing) based on the use or possession of marijuana, or a prior conviction for a marijuana offense.

• • Provides that the use or possession of marijuana, or a prior conviction for a marijuana offense, will have no adverse impact under the immigration laws.

• Requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data on the demographics of the industry to ensure people of color and those who are economically disadvantaged are participating in the industry.

For additional details on the bill, check out this interview with National NORML Political Director, Justin Strekal https://tinyurl.com/natlMOREchat. 

Actions:

1. Call and email your representative to ask them to add their name and sponsor the MORE Act, HR 3884.  If you don’t know your representative, you can find them at https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
2. Call and email Senators Burr https://www.burr.senate.gov/contact/email and Tillis https://www.tillis.senate.gov/email-me and ask them to add their name to S 2227
3. Remember our inaugural “Board Chat” coming up on Thursday Oct 24th at 7PM on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/NCNORML.  
4. In case you missed it, check out Max in New Bern giving a perfect example of how to effectively speak to your municipal boards!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu3oVunOkqM

As always:

• If you aren’t on our email list or have friends, family, and neighbors who aren’t, sign up at https://tinyurl.com/NCNORMLInterest (NOTE: If you already completed the form and didn’t know who your reps were or their positions, you can re-submit it. We will take care of cleaning up duplicates.)
• You can also stay up-to-date by following NC NORML on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.
• Help spread the word by sharing these weekly actions!

#NCNORML

#TakeAction

#5MinuteActions