Congress Will Take Historic Marijuana Vote

Marijuana is legal in Washington and ten other states but is still illegal at the federal level. A historic vote by the United States House of Representatives in September could begin a process that could see marijuana removed from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance. This list also includes heroin and LSD, among other drugs.

If passed, H.R.3884 (Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act) won't necessarily make it legal. This will be a state-by-state decision, where it is currently legal in 11 of them.

The bill proposes a 5% tax on all marijuana/cannabis products and seeks to "establish a process to expunge convictions" associated with marijuana on the federal level.

There has never been a vote by Congress to remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances. If passed by the House of Representatives, the bill would still need to be passed by the Senate.