MORE Act
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act) proposed to the 119th Congress would federally decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, removing marijuana and THC from the schedules of the Controlled Substances Act. It would require a rulemaking to finalize removal within 180 days and make the descheduling retroactive to offenses before and after enactment. The bill also sets up a framework for reinvestment in communities harmed by cannabis prohibition, creates a pathway to expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and directs federal regulation and revenue provisions to fund these efforts. In addition to the descheduling, the measure would establish new data collection on who owns and works in the cannabis industry, impose a federal tax regime on cannabis products (to fund the new programs), and designate a dedicated Opportunity Trust Fund to channel tax revenue to law-enforcement, small-business support, and reinvestment initiatives. The act also contains various conformity updates to other federal laws and transitional rules related to regulation, testing, and enforcement. Key pieces include: (a) removal of cannabis from Schedule I and the CSA with swift rulemaking; (b) a broad set of conforming amendments to remove references to cannabis/marihuana across federal law; (c) creation of the Opportunity Trust Fund funded by new cannabis taxes to support enforcement and small-business programs; (d) a new federal tax regime on cannabis products with defined rates and administration rules; (e) demographic data collection on cannabis business owners and employees with confidentiality protections; and (f) regulatory provisions and public-meeting requirements to govern the regulation, safety, labeling, and sale of cannabis and cannabis-derived products.
Key Points
- 1Decriminalization and descheduling: The bill removes marihuana/cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and directs the Attorney General to finalize removal within 180 days; the change is retroactive to offenses before, on, or after enactment.
- 2Conforming legal changes: The act amends numerous sections of the CSA and related federal laws to eliminate references to marihuana/cannabis and to adjust related enforcement and regulatory provisions.
- 3Opportunity Trust Fund: Establishes a new Trust Fund in the Treasury funded by net cannabis tax revenues, with specified allocations (including significant portions to the Department of Justice and the Small Business Administration) to support enforcement-related programs and small business reinvestment.
- 4Cannabis revenue and regulation tax: Creates a comprehensive federal tax regime on cannabis products (Cannabis Revenue and Regulation Act) with tiered rates (initial years at 5% then stepping up to 8% over time) and an “applicable equivalent amount” approach for taxed products (per ounce for non-THC products, per gram for THC-containing products), plus definitions, administration, and payment rules.
- 5Data and regulation: Requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect and publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees (with confidentiality for individuals), and directs the Health and Human Services Department to hold public meetings within one year to discuss regulation, safety, manufacturing, labeling, and sale of cannabis products.