The weed lobby fights for the plan.

Title: “The marijuana industry spent millions lobbying on legalization in 2021.”

The marijuana and cannabis industry spent over $4.2 million lobbying on a variety of issues and legislation in 2021, including the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 that was passed by the House of Representatives Friday. The MORE Act would remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances, create a tax on cannabis products and establish a trust fund to support communities impacted by the war on drugs.

“These programs would provide services to individuals: including job training, reentry services and substance use disorder services, and would provide funds for loans to assist small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the sponsor of the MORE Act, said during the House Rules Committee meeting last week. “This legislation would also provide resources for programs that minimize barriers to marijuana licensing and employment for individuals adversely affected by the war on drugs.”

Currently, 37 states, four territories and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana while at least 15 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuna. If the MORE Act is signed into law, states would not be required to adopt legalization legislation and would maintain a degree of regulatory oversight.

Nadler introduced the legislation in May 2021 and it has 102 co-sponsors, several of whom have taken money from the marijuana industry. The marijuana industry gave Nadler $2,500 in 2021, two years after he introduced the first version of the MORE Act in July 2019.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the sole Republican co-sponsor of the bill, received more money from the marijuana industry than any other member of Congress with $52,100 in contributions since his election in 2017, according to OpenSecrets data.

Another co-sponsor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), is Congress’ second-highest recipient of marijuana money, receiving $50,970 from the industry since he took office in 1996. Bluemenauer was also the top beneficiary of the marijuana industry in the 2022 and 2020 election cycle. The congressman received $32,970 in contributions in 2020, and received $7,000 during the first year of the 2022 cycle, making him the top recipient of marijuana industry contributions in 2021.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) also signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill after receiving $9,154 from the marijuana industry in 2020, and over $37,000 during her tenure. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), a member of the House Rules Committee who joined his colleagues in advancing the MORE Act to the House floor, took $4,000 from the industry in 2020, and $9,750 overall.