This post was originally published on this site
Activists supporting marijuana decriminalization gather by the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 8, 2019.
AFP via Getty Images
The Democratic-run House could vote this month in favor of a bill that decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level, but analysts say the measure won’t become law this year as it lacks support in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which was advanced in November by the House Judiciary Committee, also aims to expunge prior marijuana convictions and spur re-sentencing hearings for people still under supervision.
Top House Democrats might decide against having a vote on the bill in September, after saying last month that a vote would come during the week of Sept. 21. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said in a Tuesday conference call with reporters that the chamber’s focus is on coronavirus aid and a continuing resolution, or CR, that would fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown.
“I’m a supporter of the MORE Act, but we’ve got to get the CR and the COVID-19 done, because they are absolutely critical to the welfare of our country,” Hoyer said. “There are a lot of bills that are possible, which are important bills, good bills, but we’re focused on COVID-19 and the CR.”
That comment follows reports that some House Democrats are not happy that the chamber could end up passing the cannabis bill this month while not making a deal with Republicans on a relief package. The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an email on Monday, saying she “won’t make time for more COVID relief, but apparently she will, again, make time for marijuana.”
A House approval for the MORE Act followed by no Senate action would mirror what has happened to the SAFE Banking Act, a measure that aims to protect banks KBE, -1.23% that work with the cannabis industry. That legislation was passed by the House a year ago, but then a Republican senator who chairs a key committee said in December that he didn’t support it.
“House passage of the MORE Act may only be symbolic, but it is still significant,” said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Cowen Washington Research Group, in a recent note. “It was inconceivable just four years ago that the House would vote to legalize cannabis.”
Pot stocks, as tracked by the the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, have lost 33% this year, while the broad S&P 500 index SPX has gained 6%.
“More substantive progress will depend upon the election,” Seiberg also said. “If the election were today, Joe Biden would likely win and the Democrats would likely hold a narrow edge in the Senate. This is the most bullish outcome possible for cannabis.”
Related: Biden’s selection of Harris is ‘modestly positive’ for cannabis industry, analysts say
With 49 days to go before the Nov. 3 election, Biden, the Democratic challenger, has an edge of 3.5 percentage points over President Donald Trump in a RealClearPolitics moving average of polls focused on top swing states that are likely to decide the White House race. Meanwhile, the Cook Political Report and other analysts have said Democrats are favored to take control of the Senate.
Jonathan Nicholson contributed to this report.
