For Immediate Release
Friday, February 18th, 2022
Contact: William Z. Riley, Deputy Chief of Staff
Office@repevans.com | (773) 783-8492
The Time Is Now to Decriminalize Cannabis
“Evans Urges Congress to Decriminalize Cannabis; Helping those with Records and Growing the Important Industry”
Springfield, IL – On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, State Representative Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-Chicago) filed HR671 urging Congress to decriminalize cannabis by removing it from the Schedule I drug list.
There have been a total of thirty-seven states that have allowed for the medical use of cannabis products, twenty-seven states that have decriminalized small amounts of cannabis, and eighteen states have regulated cannabis for nonmedical adult use. This shows that over half the states in the country are ready to move towards cannabis legalization. Rep. Evans is urging Congress to remove cannabis from the Schedule I drug list to open up the many economic opportunities in the cannabis industry. More importantly, cannabis convictions disproportionately affect minority communities and action needs to be taken to help residents.
“I believe that removing cannabis from the Schedule 1 Drug list will allow for the expansion and growth of this important industry” said State Rep. Marcus Evans. “We also need to do everything we can to clear the records of people negatively impacted by the war on drugs.”
In 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed HB1438 to allow for the legalization of adult use cannabis. Rep. Evans voted in favor of cannabis legalization. After passage, Governor Pritzker signed the bill into law creating the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
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State Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. serves in the Illinois House of Representatives as Assistant Majority Leader and Chairman of the Committee on Labor & Commerce. www.RepEvans.com