Legislation approved by the U.S. House to decriminalize possession of marijuana at a federal level is facing pushback from Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.
The bill was approved by House members on April 1 by a vote of 220–204, with three Republicans—Reps. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Brian Mast (R-Mich.), and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)—joining Democrats to pass the bill. Two Democrats voted no: Chris Pappas of New Hampshire and Henry Cuellar of Texas.
The measure, which was sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), would, among other measures, remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances, establish a process to expunge convictions for federal cannabis offenses, allow those who have used marijuana to gain security clearance, permit the Veterans’ Administration to prescribe cannabis for medical and mental health reasons, and would allow the federal government to place a sales tax on sales of marijuana.
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