MORE Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2227 To decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2019 Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marijuana Opportunity 4 Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019’’ or the 5 ‘‘MORE Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2227 IS SEC. 2. DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS. 1 (a) CANNABIS REMOVED FROM SCHEDULE OF CON- 2 TROLLED SUBSTANCES.— 3 (1) REMOVAL IN STATUTE.—Subsection (c) of 4 schedule I of section 202(c) of the Controlled Sub- 5 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) is amended— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘(10) Marihuana.’’; and 7 (B) by striking ‘‘(17) 8 Tetrahydrocannabinols, except for 9 tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp (as defined in 10 section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act 11 of 1946).’’. 12 (2) REMOVAL FROM SCHEDULE.—Not later 13 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 14 this Act, the Attorney General shall finalize a rule- 15 making under section 201(a)(2) removing mari- 16 huana and tetrahydrocannabinols from the schedules 17 of controlled substances. Marihuana and 18 tetrahydrocannabinols shall each be deemed to be a 19 drug or other substance that does not meet the re- 20 quirements for inclusion in any schedule. A rule- 21 making under this paragraph shall be considered to 22 have taken effect as of the date of enactment of this 23 Act for purposes of any offense committed, case 24 pending, conviction entered, and, in the case of a ju- 25 venile, any offense committed, case pending, and ad- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2227 IS judication of juvenile delinquency entered before, on, 1 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONTROLLED 3 SUBSTANCES ACT.—The Controlled Substances Act (21 4 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended— 5 (1) in section 102(44) (21 U.S.C. 802(44)), by 6 striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 7 (2) in section 401(b) (21 U.S.C. 841(b))— 8 (A) in paragraph (1)— 9 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 10 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 11 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 12 (II) by striking clause (vii); and 13 (III) by redesignating clause 14 (viii) as clause (vii); 15 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 16 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 17 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 18 (II) by striking clause (vii); and 19 (III) by redesignating clause 20 (viii) as clause (vii); 21 (iii) in subparagraph (C), in the first 22 sentence, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A), 23 (B), and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 24 graphs (A) and (B)’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2227 IS (iv) by striking subparagraph (D); 1 (v) by redesignating subparagraph (E) 2 as subparagraph (D); and 3 (vi) in subparagraph (D)(i), as so re- 4 designated, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (C) 5 and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 6 (C)’’; 7 (B) by striking paragraph (4); and 8 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 9 and (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec- 10 tively; 11 (3) in section 402(c)(2)(B) (21 U.S.C. 12 842(c)(2)(B)), by striking ‘‘, marihuana,’’; 13 (4) in section 403(d)(1) (21 U.S.C. 843(d)(1)), 14 by striking ‘‘, marihuana,’’; 15 (5) in section 418(a) (21 U.S.C. 859(a)), by 16 striking the last sentence; 17 (6) in section 419(a) (21 U.S.C. 860(a)), by 18 striking the last sentence; 19 (7) in section 422(d) (21 U.S.C. 863(d))— 20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 21 by striking ‘‘marijuana,’’; and 22 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘, such 23 as a marihuana cigarette,’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2227 IS (8) in section 516(d) (21 U.S.C. 886(d)), by 1 striking ‘‘section 401(b)(6)’’ each place the term ap- 2 pears and inserting ‘‘section 401(b)(5)’’. 3 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 4 (1) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM DRUG CONTROL 5 ACT OF 1986.—The National Forest System Drug 6 Control Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 559b et seq.) is 7 amended— 8 (A) in section 15002(a) (16 U.S.C. 9 559b(a)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 10 (B) in section 15003(2) (16 U.S.C. 11 559c(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 12 and 13 (C) in section 15004(2) (16 U.S.C. 14 559d(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’. 15 (2) INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS.—Sec- 16 tion 2516 of title 18, United States Code, is amend- 17 ed— 18 (A) in subsection (1)(e), by striking ‘‘mari- 19 huana,’’; and 20 (B) in subsection (2) by striking ‘‘mari- 21 huana’’. 22 (d) RETROACTIVITY.—The amendments made by this 23 section to the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 24 et seq.) are retroactive and shall apply to any offense com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2227 IS mitted, case pending, conviction entered, and, in the case 1 of a juvenile, any offense committed, case pending, or ad- 2 judication of juvenile delinquency entered before, on, or 3 after the date of enactment of this Act. 4 SEC. 3. DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF CANNABIS BUSINESS OWN- 5 ERS AND EMPLOYEES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Labor Statistics 7 shall regularly compile, maintain, and make public data 8 on the demographics of— 9 (1) individuals who are business owners in the 10 cannabis industry; and 11 (2) individuals who are employed in the can- 12 nabis industry. 13 (b) DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.—The data collected under 14 subsection (a) shall include data regarding— 15 (1) age; 16 (2) certifications and licenses; 17 (3) disability status; 18 (4) educational attainment; 19 (5) family and marital status; 20 (6) nativity; 21 (7) race and Hispanic ethnicity; 22 (8) school enrollment; 23 (9) veteran status; and 24 (10) sex. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2227 IS (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The name, address, and 1 other identifying information of individuals employed in 2 the cannabis industry shall be kept confidential by the Bu- 3 reau and not be made available to the public. 4 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) CANNABIS.—The term ‘‘cannabis’’ means 6 either marijuana or cannabis as defined under the 7 State law authorizing the sale or use of cannabis in 8 which the individual or entity is located. 9 (2) CANNABIS INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘cannabis 10 industry’’ means an individual or entity that is li- 11 censed or permitted under a State or local law to en- 12 gage in commercial cannabis-related activity. 13 (3) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means an in- 14 dividual or entity that is defined as an owner under 15 the State or local law where the individual or busi- 16 ness is licensed or permitted. 17 SEC. 4. CREATION OF OPPORTUNITY TRUST FUND AND IM- 18 POSITION OF TAX ON CANNABIS PRODUCTS. 19 (a) TRUST FUND.— 20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subchapter A of chap- 21 ter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 22 amended by adding at the end the following new sec- 23 tion: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2227 IS ‘‘SEC. 9512. OPPORTUNITY TRUST FUND. 1 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab- 2 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 3 to be known as the ‘Opportunity Trust Fund’ (referred 4 to in this section as the ‘Trust Fund’), consisting of such 5 amounts as may be appropriated or credited to such fund 6 as provided in this section or section 9602(b). 7 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There are here- 8 by appropriated to the Trust Fund amounts equivalent to 9 the net revenues received in the Treasury from the tax 10 imposed by section 5701(h). 11 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Trust Fund 12 shall be available, without further appropriation, only as 13 follows: 14 ‘‘(1) 50 percent to the Attorney General to 15 carry out section 3052(a) of part OO of the Omni- 16 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. 17 ‘‘(2) 10 percent to the Attorney General to 18 carry out section 3052(b) of part OO of the Omni- 19 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. 20 ‘‘(3) 20 percent to the Administrator of the 21 Small Business Administration to carry out section 22 5(b)(1) of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment 23 and Expungement Act of 2019. 24 ‘‘(4) 20 percent to the Administrator of the 25 Small Business Administration to carry out section 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2227 IS 5(b)(2) of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment 1 and Expungement Act of 2019.’’. 2 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 3 tions for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code 4 is amended by adding at the end the following new 5 item: 6 ‘‘Sec. 9512. Opportunity trust fund.’’. (b) IMPOSITION OF TAX.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5701 of the Internal 8 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating 9 subsection (h) as subsection (i) and by inserting 10 after subsection (g) the following new subsection: 11 ‘‘(h) CANNABIS PRODUCTS.—On cannabis products, 12 manufactured in or imported into the United States, there 13 shall be imposed a tax equal to 5 percent of the price for 14 which sold.’’. 15 (2) CANNABIS PRODUCT DEFINED.—Section 16 5702 of such Code is amended by adding at the end 17 the following new subsection: 18 ‘‘(q) CANNABIS PRODUCT.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 20 graph (2), the term ‘cannabis product’ means any 21 cannabis or any article which contains cannabis or 22 any derivative thereof. 23 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘cannabis product’ 24 shall not include any medicine or drug that is a pre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2227 IS scribed drug (as such term is defined in section 1 213(d)(3)). 2 ‘‘(3) CANNABIS.—The term ‘cannabis’— 3 ‘‘(A) means all parts of the plant Cannabis 4 sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds 5 thereof; the resin extracted from any part of 6 such plant; and every compound, manufacture, 7 salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such 8 plant, its seeds or resin; and 9 ‘‘(B) does not include— 10 ‘‘(i) hemp, as defined in section 297A 11 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946; 12 or 13 ‘‘(ii) the mature stalks of such plant, 14 fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake 15 made from the seeds of such plant, any 16 other compound, manufacture, salt, deriva- 17 tive, mixture, or preparation of such ma- 18 ture stalks (except the resin extracted 19 therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the steri- 20 lized seed of such plant which is incapable 21 of germination.’’. 22 (3) CANNABIS PRODUCTS TREATED AS TO- 23 BACCO PRODUCTS.—Section 5702(c) of such Code is 24 amended by striking ‘‘and roll-your-own tobacco’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2227 IS and inserting ‘‘roll-your-own tobacco, and cannabis 1 products’’. 2 (4) MANUFACTURER OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS 3 TREATED AS MANUFACTURER OF TOBACCO PROD- 4 UCTS.—Section 5702 of such Code is amended by 5 adding at the end the following new subsection: 6 ‘‘(r) MANUFACTURER OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who plants, 8 cultivates, harvests, produces, manufactures, com- 9 pounds, converts, processes, prepares, or packages 10 any cannabis product shall be treated as a manufac- 11 turer of cannabis products (and as manufacturing 12 such cannabis product). 13 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 14 apply with respect to any cannabis product which is 15 for such person’s own personal consumption or use. 16 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF RULES RELATED TO 17 MANUFACTURERS OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS.—Any 18 reference to a manufacturer of tobacco products, or 19 to manufacturing tobacco products, shall be treated 20 as including a reference to a manufacturer of can- 21 nabis products, or to manufacturing cannabis prod- 22 ucts, respectively.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2227 IS (5) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN RULES FOR DE- 1 TERMINING PRICE.—Section 5702(l) of such Code is 2 amended— 3 (A) by striking ‘‘section 5701(a)(2)’’ and 4 inserting ‘‘subsections (a)(2) and (h) of section 5 5701’’; and 6 (B) by inserting ‘‘AND CANNABIS PROD- 7 UCTS’’ after ‘‘CIGARS’’ in the heading thereof. 8 (6) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9 5702(j) of such Code is amended by adding at the 10 end the following new sentence: ‘‘In the case of a 11 cannabis product, the previous sentence shall be ap- 12 plied by substituting ‘from a facility of a manufac- 13 turer required to file a bond under section 5711’ for 14 ‘from the factory or from internal revenue bond 15 under section 5704’.’’. 16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro- 18 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 19 this section shall apply to articles manufactured or 20 imported in calendar quarters beginning more than 21 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 22 (2) TRUST FUND.—The amendments made by 23 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the en- 24 actment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2227.IS S2227 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2227 IS SEC. 5. OPPORTUNITY TRUST FUND PROGRAMS. 1 (a) CANNABIS JUSTICE OFFICE; [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]