The House voted to decriminalize marijuana. Just one California Republican agreed, reports the Sacramento Bee
Is this just a party lines thing or should Californians in the cannabis industry be taking a much closer look at their Republican reps both state and federal in lower and upper houses?
The Sac Bee writes…
One California Republican voted to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level on Friday. He might not be the one you would expect to do so. But Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, has long supported decriminalizing the drug, even though he does not support marijuana use. “Personally, I believe cannabis use in most cases is ill-advised. But many things are ill-advised that should not be illegal, but rather be left to the informed judgment of free men and women,” McClintock said in 2019.
Though legalizing marijuana has typically been viewed as a more liberal position, McClintock is certainly not considered the most moderate of California’s House Republicans. He is generally a reliable conservative vote.
McClintock was one of three Republicans in the U.S. House to support the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, to decriminalize it at the federal level and cut its scheduling under the Controlled Substances Act on Friday. The other two Republicans to support it were from Florida. Four Republicans did not vote: None of them were from California. The bill, if signed into law, would also create a process for nonviolent marijuana offenders to have their convictions cleared. Ten Republicans represent California in the U.S. House. Former Congressman Devin Nunes would have made it 11, but he resigned to become the chief executive officer of former President Donald Trump’s social media venture. All 42 California Democrats supported the measure.
Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article260027475.html#storylink=cpy
