[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 119 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H2597-H2598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE HOUSE HAS ACTED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I was excited to see the House take 
action to promote racial justice this last week. Under the leadership 
of Karen Bass, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Democratic 
leadership, we put forth a comprehensive effort to deal with the crying 
need that we are hearing demands in the street for more racial justice 
in America.
  The House has acted. There are many provisions there that are going 
to make a big difference in terms of being able to balance the scale 
and protect the interests particularly of minority Americans.
  Unfortunately, there is one area that remains unaddressed. Perhaps 
one of the darkest hours in the assault on people of color is Richard 
Nixon's war on drugs. Nixon's cronies have cynically admitted that it 
was targeted directly towards people of color and young people. The 
phony war on drugs contradicted the advice that President Nixon got 
from his own Blue Ribbon Commission on how to handle cannabis in our 
country.
  Instead, the goal was to criminalize, to amp up enforcement, and was 
specifically targeted toward people of color and young Americans. This 
has been admitted by John Ehrlichman, who was assistant to President 
Nixon for domestic policy. They calculated this would be a way to curry 
favor from the voters, be able to demonize

[[Page H2598]]

and target the young and people of color.

  Unfortunately, that war on drugs continues to this day. Last year, 
there were tens of thousands of young people of color, particularly 
Black Americans, who were caught in the net of law enforcement with 
citations or arrests for something that the majority of Americans now 
think should be legal.
  Indeed, the majority of Republicans think marijuana should be legal. 
And action has been taken in State after State, usually with a vote of 
the people; that is the case in my State of Oregon, California, 
Arizona, and Nevada, where the decision has been made by voters that 
this mindless prohibition against marijuana makes no sense. Ten States 
have completely legalized adult use. Over 33 have legalized medical 
cannabis. And then you take some of the specialized legislation that 
deals with children with extreme seizure disorders for whom an extract 
of cannabis is the only thing that gives these children relief from 
that torture of dozens, sometimes hundreds of seizures a day. Overall 
47 States have acted to legalize cannabis in some form.
  With the House leadership in Democratic control, we have taken key 
steps. We passed the Safe Banking Act with overwhelming bipartisan 
support. 321 Members voted for the legislation that would extend 
banking services to this large and growing sector of our economy. It is 
one of the other elements that is languishing in the Senate, but it 
demonstrates that broad bipartisanship support.
  In the House Judiciary Committee, the MORE Act, under the leadership 
of Chairman Jerry Nadler working with the Cannabis Caucus, has produced 
legislation that has been approved by the Judiciary Committee with a 
bipartisan vote. I am pleased to note that it incorporates many of the 
provisions of Barbara Lee's Marijuana Justice Act, which was endorsed 
by the CBC with over 60 percent majority.
  It is time for us to take the next step. These needless traffic stops 
sometimes start with looking for a broken taillight, as law enforcement 
are involved with fishing expeditions looking for marijuana. Too often 
it catches young people, especially young people of color in the net. 
Indeed, they don't target White Americans who use cannabis at the same 
rate. It is targeted specifically against people of color. Too often 
those interactions with law enforcement lead to tragic results.
  It is time for the House to act to end this failed policy of 
prohibition, protect young Black lives and be able to fully legalize 
cannabis by passing the MORE Act. We can do this quickly and easily, 
and I hope we do.

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