Matt Gaetz: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. The MORE Act is flawed. It uses cannabis policy to do a great deal of social…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. The MORE Act is flawed. It uses cannabis policy to do a great deal of social engineering to create new taxes and new programs and redistribution of assets. But I am here as the only Republican cosponsor of the MORE Act, and I am voting for it because the Federal Government has lied to the people of this country about marijuana for a generation. We have seen a generation, particularly of Black and Brown youth, locked up for offenses that should not have resulted in any incarceration whatsoever. I am also deeply troubled by the current policy of the Federal Government that inhibits research into cannabis, research that could unlock cures and help people live better lives. My Republican colleagues today will make a number of arguments against this bill, but those arguments are overwhelmingly losing with the American people. In every State where cannabis reform was on the ballot in this country, it passed. It passed with overwhelming support. As a matter of fact, the only thing that I know that is more popular than getting out of the war on drugs is getting out of the war in Afghanistan. But if we were measuring the success in the war on drugs, it would be hard to conclude anything other than the fact that drugs have won because the American people do not support the policies of incarceration, limited research, limited choice, and particularly constraining medical application.…”