House passes MORE federal weed legalization bill, but don’t get too excited

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been republished with permission.

It’s Groundhog Day again in the House of Representatives as Democrats vote to legalize marijuana at the federal level.

If you’re reading the headlines again that marijuana somehow just got legalized in America, you’re sadly mistaken, and to be honest you’re living in a marijuana “wishful thinking” moment. Don’t fall for the banana in the tailpipe again when the House passes federal marijuana legalization, it’s not going to happen in the Senate any time soon.

Photo by Olena Ruban/Getty Images

RELATED: US House of Representatives Approves Bill Ending Federal Cannabis Ban: What Does It Mean?

Speaking of the marijuana moment, they’re doing a good job summarizing all of the marijuana votes that took place in the House of Representatives yesterday. As Marijuana Moment points out, this is the second time the House of Representatives has passed legislation legalizing it at the federal level, not to mention the dozens of pro-cannabis bills that have been introduced in the House of Representatives and ended up going nowhere.

If you read Cannabis.net regularly, you know that our sour stance on federal legalization always ends with the same sentence: “Marijuana will be legal federally when Mitch McConnell says it should be legal federally”. That’s it. Then it will happen. No need to argue about it, no need to celebrate state-by-state legalization every year, weed will be legal federally when Mitch gives the go-ahead on the Republican side.

Will there be federal legalization of marijuana soon? No.

Here are some good reasons why it won’t happen soon:

• McConnell sees marijuana legalization as a major “democratic” problem. Legalizing weed would be a huge win for Democrats, which Mitch has no interest in right now. He has publicly ridiculed Democrats for attempting to attach cannabis legalization to other bills such as the Defense Expenditure Act. The Kentucky senator has actually pointed out twice, on live television or via streaming, how stupid and underhand the Democrats’ legalization efforts have been so far. He has even gone so far as to call marijuana legalization a “poison pill” when added to other laws.
• As AOC recently pointed out, Democrats are in trouble ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Republicans will win more seats in the House of Representatives and maybe the Senate. It’s in Mitch’s self-interest to hold the line and wait for Republicans to get more seats in the House and Senate, and then introduce a Republican bill like Rep. Mace’s cannabis legalization bill. Get all the credit and glory while knowing it’s 100% going to happen, in contrast to the Democrat’s futile efforts for federal legalization.
• Money Talks and Big Tobacco, Big Pharma and Big Alcohol all spend billions on lobbying efforts, while the marijuana industry spends a few million dollars on lobbying. Senators and other politicians listen to their biggest donors and lobbyists, so if Republicans and big lobbyists are financially positioned for federal legalization, weed will be legalized. If everyone has their ducks lined up like they say, then we’re going to see federal legalization.
• A minimum of 60 votes are required for the MORE ACT or any other cannabis legalization bill to pass the Senate, and at the last count, the Senate was nearly 10 votes short of previous votes. To put it in perspective, they’re nowhere near the required 60 votes unless Mitch tells Republicans to vote for it.

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

The House of Representatives vote was 220 for and 204 against, not exactly a clear victory for the marijuana movement in America (202 Republicans voted against and 2 Democrats voted against legalizing cannabis).

RELATED: Why Does Congressional Cannabis Caucus Co-Chair Vote Against MORE Bill?

If you were watching any of the C-SPAN streams yesterday, you saw Republicans calling marijuana a gateway drug that it’s a ruse while ignoring real issues like inflation and war, and that America doesn’t need more drug addicts.

With Republicans most likely gaining more power in the midterm elections, if Mitch McConnell says it will be legalized, weed will be legalized.

This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been republished with permission.