(Jefferson City)–The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has voted largely along party lines in favor of decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. The so-called MORE Act would remove cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and create a process to eliminate low-level federal marijuana convictions and arrests. On the House floor Friday, West-central Missouri Republican Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler spoke against the plan.

Bill sponsor Jerry Nadler, a Democratic Congressman from New York says the longtime federal drug policy has been particularly felt by minorities because it has kept some of them from getting jobs. The legislation is expected to have an uphill battle in the U.S. Senate.