The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to decriminalise cannabis at the federal level for the first time. But the bill is very unlikely to be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate.
I wonder why we never seem to hear about activism or proposals on this issue in the UK? It used to seem that the US was more conservative on this, but no longer it seems.
Friday's vote was the first time a full chamber of Congress has taken up the issue of federally decriminalizing cannabis. Of the vote count, 222 Democrats were in favor of passing the MORE Act and six were against it. Five Republicans voted in favor of it and 158 voted against passing it.
The states watched intently what happened in Colorado. Some of the others eventually decided to give it ago. There were some across-state-lines complications.
Eventually, it comes down to getting at more revenue.
In Washington State, where I live, we have voted to legalize for medical purposes, as well as recreational purposes cannabis. Several Tribal smoke shops are set up to sell. Of course there is a tax on it and conflict with federal drug laws, but our whole nation is coming around to legalizing it state by state, as well as the District of Columbia (Wa DC). It has been touted as an opportunity to lessen the court case load, free up prison space, and raise revenue. There are all sorts of restrictions, blah - blah. Bottom line, it works.