On December 4, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act with a vote of 228 to 164. The bill works to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, allows the regulation of the sale of cannabis and addresses the inequities relating to past enforcement of marijuana laws. Although the MORE Act did not get a vote in the Senate before the ending of the 116^th Congress, the MORE Act marks the first time that a chamber of Congress voted to decriminalize cannabis. The vote on this national legislation is coupled with the growing number of states implementing some sort of marijuana legalization or decriminalization. Using the arguments surrounding this bill, students will examine the role of the federal government in drug policy and public health concerns over marijuana use to determine if the federal government should decriminalize marijuana.

Students will use the resources on this page to answer the question:

Should the federal government decriminalize marijuana?

* Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, teachers should exercise discretion when determining if this resource is appropriate for their class.

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Objectives and Outcomes

• Students will be able to describe key vocabulary terms and concepts associated with the debate of decriminalizing marijuana such as regulation, medical v. recreational use, and black markets.
  
• Students will be able to identify and explain aspects of the marijuana decriminalization debate including its potential impact on criminal justice, the marijuana industry, and public health.
  
• Students will be able to evaluate arguments relating to marijuana and formulate an opinion on this question.