I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3617 
To decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in 
certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide 
for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 28, 2021 
Mr. NADLER (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 
JACKSON LEE, Mr. JEFFRIES, and Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, 
Education and Labor, Ways and Means, Small Business, Natural Re-
sources, Oversight and Reform, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for 
reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by 
the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain 
cannabis offenses, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marijuana Opportunity 
Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021’’ or the 
‘‘MORE Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) The communities that have been most 
harmed by cannabis prohibition are benefiting the 
least from the legal marijuana marketplace. 
(2) A legacy of racial and ethnic injustices, 
compounded by the disproportionate collateral con-
sequences of 80 years of cannabis prohibition en-
forcement, now limits participation in the industry. 
(3) 37 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto 
Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have 
adopted laws allowing legal access to cannabis, and 
15 States, the District of Columbia, the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam 
have adopted laws legalizing cannabis for adult rec-
reational use. 
(4) A total of 47 States have reformed their 
laws pertaining to cannabis despite the Schedule I 
status of marijuana and its Federal criminalization. 
(5) 
Legal 
cannabis 
sales 
totaled 
$20,000,000,000 in 2020 and are projected to reach 
$40,500,000,000 by 2025. 
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(6) According to the American Civil Liberties 
Union (ACLU), enforcing cannabis prohibition laws 
costs taxpayers approximately $3.6 billion a year. 
(7) The continued enforcement of cannabis pro-
hibition laws results in over 600,000 arrests annu-
ally, disproportionately impacting people of color 
who are almost 4 times more likely to be arrested 
for cannabis possession than their White counter-
parts, despite equal rates of use across populations. 
(8) People of color have been historically tar-
geted by discriminatory sentencing practices result-
ing in Black men receiving drug sentences that are 
13.1 percent longer than sentences imposed for 
White men and Latinos being nearly 6.5 times more 
likely to receive a Federal sentence for cannabis pos-
session than non-Hispanic Whites. 
(9) In 2013, simple cannabis possession was the 
fourth most common cause of deportation for any of-
fense and the most common cause of deportation for 
drug law violations. 
(10) Fewer than one-fifth of cannabis business 
owners identify as minorities and only approximately 
4 percent are black. 
(11) Applicants for cannabis licenses are lim-
ited by numerous laws, regulations, and exorbitant 
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permit applications, licensing fees, and costs in these 
States, which can require more than $700,000. 
(12) Historically disproportionate arrest and 
conviction rates make it particularly difficult for 
people of color to enter the legal cannabis market-
place, as most States bar these individuals from par-
ticipating. 
(13) Federal law severely limits access to loans 
and capital for cannabis businesses, disproportion-
ately impacting minority small business owners. 
(14) Some States and municipalities have taken 
proactive steps to mitigate inequalities in the legal 
cannabis marketplace and ensure equal participation 
in the industry. 
SEC. 3. DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS. 
(a) CANNABIS REMOVED FROM SCHEDULE OF CON-
TROLLED SUBSTANCES.— 
(1) REMOVAL IN STATUTE.—Subsection (c) of 
schedule I of section 202(c) of the Controlled Sub-
stances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(10) Marihuana.’’; and 
(B) 
by 
striking 
‘‘(17) 
Tetrahydrocannabinols, 
except 
for 
tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp (as defined in 
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section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act 
of 1946).’’. 
(2) REMOVAL
FROM
SCHEDULE.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Attorney General shall finalize a rule-
making under section 201(a)(2) removing mari-
huana and tetrahydrocannabinols from the schedules 
of controlled substances. For the purposes of the 
Controlled 
Substances 
Act, 
marihuana 
and 
tetrahydrocannabinols shall each be deemed to be a 
drug or other substance that does not meet the re-
quirements for inclusion in any schedule. A rule-
making under this paragraph shall be considered to 
have taken effect as of the date of enactment of this 
Act for purposes of any offense committed, case 
pending, conviction entered, and, in the case of a ju-
venile, any offense committed, case pending, and ad-
judication of juvenile delinquency entered before, on, 
or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
TO CONTROLLED 
SUBSTANCES ACT.—The Controlled Substances Act (21 
U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 102(44) (21 U.S.C. 802(44)), by 
striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 
(2) in section 401(b) (21 U.S.C. 841(b))— 
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