ROCHESTER, Minn. - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill decriminalizing marijuana.
If passed by the Senate, the MORE Act, or Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, would not legalize cannabis.
Instead, it would remove cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances, create a 5% federal tax on cannabis products, and institute a process for expunging federal cannabis offenses.
Ted Galaty of Willow's Keep Farm in Zumbrota says passing the MORE Act could change lives.
"The decriminalization is huge. I mean, there are so many people that it would just expunge that record, and they could really live a normal life," Galaty said.
Among those voting no on the bill was Representative Jim Hagedorn, who says the MORE Act aims to "fully legalize and allow for the corporate takeover and distribution of the gateway drug marijuana."
