Georgia Senate Runoff Elections Could Affect Future Marijuana Legislation
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana. Dubbed the MORE Act, the bill’s relevance intersects in time with the Georgia runoff elections.
The MORE Act removes marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act list and gets rid of criminal penalties for the manufacture, distribution or possession of marijuana. While this decriminalizes marijuana federally, states decide their own rules regarding the regulation of the drug.
The bill also seeks to reinvest in those impacted by the War on Drugs by expunging records and reversing convictions for those with marijuana-related offenses.
A 5% tax would be levied on marijuana to create funds to support businesses and employment in the cannabis industry.
“It’s an all-encompassing approach to righting the wrongs of 70 plus years of [marijuana] prohibition,” Ryan Ralston said.
Ralston is the Executive Director for Peachtree NORML, Georgia’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Their mission as an organization aligns with that of the MORE Act.
In the House of Representatives, the bill passed with votes in favor from 222 Democrats and five Republicans. However, Ralston pointed at both parties for failing to “bring meaningful reform” and “repeatedly blocking lifesaving legislation” regarding marijuana.
Despite this, he looks at the incoming presidential cabinet for hope. Ralston said that a new attorney general could help push legislation through and get marijuana removed from the Controlled Substance Act during Joe Biden’s term as president.
“We’re hopeful that regardless of who maintains or controls the senate, that there are enough common sense, open-minded senators that would look at 70 plus years of government propaganda and understand that the time has come for action,” Ralston said.
Coleman Williamson, vice president of outreach for the Atlanta Young Republicans, said he can see legislation such as this going either way in the senate.
“I think that this issue has gotten more mainstream, especially over the last couple of years,” Williamson said.
From a conservative stance, he said he takes issue with the act because of the 5% federal tax on marijuana and the Bureau of Labor Statistics recording data on the cannabis industry.
“Those are the issues that I see being … more of an issue for those Republicans who are otherwise pro-decriminalization,” Williamson said.
Though the AYR doesn’t take a unified stance on legalization, Williamson is in support of decriminalization and said there is less opposition to it overall.
Georgia state senator Nan Orrock said she expects the bill to die before it reaches a senate vote and before the runoff elections are decided.
“Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans have shown no interest in moving forward with this important bill,” Orrock said.
If theoretically, both Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win the Georgia runoff elections, she said that the Democrat-controlled Senate could bring the bill up for a vote and pass it.
“It’s been a long road to get here, and we have not accomplished it, yet and still,” Orrock said.
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