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reThe United States House of Representatives voted to legalize marijuana at the federal level. 228 MPs in the US Democrat-dominated House of Parliament spoke out Friday in favor of removing marijuana from the US narcotics law. 164 deputies voted against. The majority of the votes against came from the Republicans. The bill is likely to fail in the Senate. Republicans have a majority in this House of Parliament.
The vote in the House of Representatives still sends a signal. A spokesman for then-candidate and now-elected president Joe Biden said in September that the Democrat was in favor of legalization. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who will remain in the Senate until next month, also supports him. He has presented a corresponding bill to the Senate.
The reform aims to remove cannabis from a federal law that lists drugs classified as dangerous. Marijuana is found alongside harder drugs like heroin and cocaine. Among other things, the text aims to pave the way for the regulation and taxation of the cannabis trade at the federal level. Additionally, prior convictions for misdemeanor drug offenses must be expunged from the criminal record. Proponents of the reform argue, among other things, that African Americans are far more likely to be arrested and convicted of drug crimes than whites.
Biden and Harris will be sworn in on January 20 in Washington. Several US states have already legalized marijuana and other states are planning to decriminalize it. As president, Biden could also address the issue at the federal level without Congress passing legislation.
The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, had presented the bill to the House. The Democrat stated after the vote: “For too long we have treated marijuana as a criminal justice problem and not as a matter of personal choice and public health.” War on Drugs ”, which he asked especially among minorities.
