The MORE Act: What it does and what it could mean for the Bluegrass State - Part II: The Foundation

As I alluded to in part one of this series, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act contains a number of provisions and programs essential for the cannabis industry to thrive on a national scale.  Additionally, the legislation includes funding and oversight for said programs.  More information on those programs is forthcoming, but before addressing the framework, I feel it is necessary to touch upon the legislation’s foundation.  First and foremost, the MORE Act removes cannabis from the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) list of controlled substances which, in and of itself, has the potential to benefit Kentucky citizens  in a variety of ways.

At the top of the list of the MORE Act’s legalization benefits are those within the judicial system.  Under the proposed new cannabis policy, manufacture, distribution, use, and possession of cannabis would cease to be a crime at the federal level.  Furthermore, this change to current policy is retroactive, establishing a process for expungement of prior convictions as well as sentencing reviews for those currently incarcerated due to the unjust policy of prohibition.

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