House passage of the MORE Act is an important step in undoing the harmful legacy of the war on drugs.
A Cannabis logo with Santa hat seen in Dublin city center.
On Thursday, December 3, 2020, in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Early Friday afternoon, the House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 3884, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bipartisan legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. A historic first, the MORE Act moves on to the Senate where it is expected to face the same fate as the comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill, the HEROES Act.
The MORE Act passed 228-164. Five republicans and Rep. Justin Amash, the only independent member of the house, joined House Democrats in voting yes on H.R. 3884. Six democrats voted no.
The MORE Act removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, allowing states the freedom to set their own policies without the threat of federal interference. It would end federal arrests for marijuana possession, which disproportionately impact Black and other communities of color. Decriminalization provisions are retroactive.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DEC. 1: Shawna Richards (right) hugs her friend Jeany while they each smoke their own joints and blunts in the smoking room of Berner’s on Haight dispensary in San Francisco, Calif. Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday whether to approve a ban on smoking cannabis and tobacco in apartment buildings. (Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Drug convictions can also prohibit people from taking advantage of federal programs like student financial aid or applying for government employment. Decriminalizing marijuna at the federal level also opens new ownership opportunities for those previously unable to take advantage of the growing cannabis industry. The MORE Act would make it possible for potential business owners to take advantage of small business loans and other programs available through the Small Business Administration.
Friday’s vote is just the first hurdle the MORE Act needs to clear on its way to becoming law.
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While some opponents of the bill argue there are more serious concerns, advocates are pushing forward. In an open letter Thursday, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights urged representatives to vote yes on the MORE Act arguing that “marijuana reform is an effective first step to address criminal justice, racial justice, and public health.”
A coalition of over 220 civil and human rights advocacy organizations, the Leadership Conference is just one of several organizations comprising the Marijuana Justice Coalition. In its letter, the Leadership Conference estimated that more than 600,000 arrests for marijuana enforcement take place each year.
It has taken nearly a year and a half for the MORE Act to reach this moment. First introduced in July 2019 Vice-President elect Kamala Harris was a sponsor of the senate version of the bill.
“Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on both sides of the aisle now have the opportunity and responsibility to come together and pass this important piece of legislation,” said Steven Hawkins, executive director at the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement.
“The prohibition and criminalization of marijuana has led to decades of injustice and devastating consequences, and it’s clear that a strong majority of Americans do not support the status quo. It is past time for Congress to take real action.”
President Biden Pardons Criminal Justice Advocate 24 Years After Her Release From Prison
Kemba Smith Pradia was convicted of a non-violent drug offense in 1994 and served 6.5 years of a 24-year sentence. She says her clemency offers a new outlook on life.
On his final full day in office, on Sunday, January 19, President Biden announced that he leveraged his clemency power to pardon Kemba Smith Pradia, who was previously convicted and sentenced to 24 years in federal prison.
Smith Pradia was a college student when she became involved in an abusive relationship with Peter Hall, a drug dealer. Throughout their relationship, she endured repeated abuse and feared for her safety. According to the Legal Defense Fund, despite never selling or using drugs, Smith Pradia was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1994 after witnessing some of Hall’s illegal activities. She was later held accountable for his actions following his murder.
At the time, stringent federal sentencing laws led to her receiving a 24 ½-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole. Smith Pradia, a first-time non-violent offender, was also seven months pregnant at the time of her sentencing. Her case drew national attention and garnered support from various organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. This eventually led to President Bill Clinton granting her executive clemency in 2000 after she had served nearly seven years in federal prison.
This pardon will now wipe her criminal slate clean.
“Today, I am exercising my clemency power to pardon 5 individuals and commute the sentences of two individuals who have demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation and redemption,” Biden said in an official statement. “These clemency recipients have each made significant contributions to improving their communities.”
Since her release in 2000, Smith Pradia has advocated for raising awareness of domestic violence, criminal justice and racial equity at the helm of her nonprofit foundation. Smith Pradia has also attempted to earn her law degree but has been unable to due to her criminal conviction.
“One of the things I experienced while in law school was thinking about my criminal conviction and how I would have to go through a special process to even be admitted to the bar,” Smith Pradia shared during a January 19 news conference held by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. “This pardon will allow me the opportunity to not have limits on my education.”
Between 1986 and 1991, the number of Black women imprisoned on drug-related charges jumped 828 percent per a 1995 report released by The Sentencing Project titled “Young Black Americans and the Criminal Justice System: Five Years Later.” According to the report, when Kemba Smith Pradia was convicted, Black women were the fastest-growing incarcerated population in the country.
Even today, Black women are still being incarcerated at an alarming rate. While they make up 7.7 percent of the total U.S. population and 15.3 percent of the female population, Black women represented 29 percent of incarcerated women, according to the 2020 Census.
“{Smith Pradia’s} story is not a unique one,” said Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of Legal Defense Fund, during a news conference.
“She is a unique and exceptional individual, but sadly, her interaction with the criminal legal system is not. There are many women and other non-violent drug offenders who have labored under the cloud of a criminal conviction and many of whom are still languishing in prison.”
Nelson continues: “What President Biden’s actions have done is show us that society, lawmakers and politicians have a second chance to get public safety policy right.”
Since her release, Smith Pradia has been outspoken on issues related to criminal justice, domestic violence, women’s empowerment and racial equity through her nonprofit foundation. She says that the pardon will allow her to continue her mission.
“Today, I dropped to my knees, thanking God for this moment,” the activist says. “I am overwhelmed with gratitude and humbled by the news that I have been granted a full pardon by President Joe Biden. This incredible act of grace not only expunges my criminal record and restores my rights but also reaffirms the belief that our past does not define our future.”
President Biden granted clemency to several others on Sunday. Among those pardoned was Don Scott, the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. Convicted of a drug offense in 1994, Scott served eight years in prison before becoming an attorney and, in 2019, making history as the first Black speaker of the Virginia House.
Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate from Wilmington, Delaware, also received a pardon. Having served 17 years for a drug offense, Chambers has since dedicated his efforts to researching and writing about solutions to gun violence in his community.
President Biden made a posthumous pardon for Marcus Garvey, the Black Nationalist leader who was convicted of mail fraud over a century ago—a charge widely believed to have been politically motivated. The president also commuted the sentences of Robin Peoples and Michelle West, with their sentences now set to expire on February 18, 2025.
West, a first-time non-violent offender who was sentenced to life, plus 50 years, plus 5 years probation in 1994 under War On Drugs era laws. She served 32 years. Now, her criminal record will be expunged. “I am overjoyed and deeply grateful that President Biden has commuted my mom’s life sentence,” West’s daughter Miquelle West shared in a statement.
“I was only a little girl when my mom dropped me off for school one morning and never picked me up. That was the last time I hugged my mom outside of prison. I have grown up and lived my entire adult life under the cloud of ‘mandatory life in prison.’ Today, after more than 30 years hoping and advocating every day that her life sentence could somehow be reduced, the clouds have parted. I finally see the sunshine and a bright future for us both.”
President Biden’s decision to pardon several people on his last full day in office reflect part of his administration’s broader clemency efforts, which have become a defining aspect of his presidency.
To date, Biden has granted more individual pardons and commutations than any of his recent predecessors. Just days before Sunday’s announcement, he commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 individuals convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, and in December, made headlines with a sweeping pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, who faced charges related to gun and tax offenses.This decision also follows Biden’s earlier move to commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 people on federal death row, converting their sentences to life imprisonment.
Reflecting on her pardon, Smith Pradia shared, “I want to extend my deepest gratitude to President Biden and his administration for their commitment to criminal justice reform and for believing in the transformative power of second chances.”