Taking a close look at what the MORE Act will actually do for marijuana decriminalization, blogger Vince Sliwoski of international law firm Harris Sliwoski wrote that it will not legalize cannabis the way that people might think. Sliwoski notes that the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that the federal government cannot “commandeer” states by forcing them to enact laws in the federal interest. That’s true in the cannabis prohibition context, and it will also be true once the feds give a green light to cannabis, under the MORE Act or otherwise.
He writes: “The biggest point of confusion seems to be the idea that if the MORE Act passes, cannabis will become legal nationwide. It won’t. As a matter of federal law, yes, cannabis will be descheduled entirely. And not only that, but all federal marijuana convictions will be expunged – even the folks who were captured with many tons of cannabis in helicopters and submarines. But state laws will not be preempted in the least.