Politics
Congressional Committee Moves To Block Marijuana Rescheduling
A GOP-controlled House committee has unveiled a new spending bill that contains provisions to block the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana. The legislation would also maintain a separate longstanding rider protecting state medical cannabis programs from federal interference—though with new language authorizing enhanced penalties for sales near schools and parks.
On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee released the text of the spending measure covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS). For the second time now, the base legislation contains language hostile to marijuana rescheduling efforts that remain ongoing.
Specifically, the bill would block the Justice Department from using its funds to reschedule or deschedule marijuana. Under the Biden administration, DOJ recommended moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), but that process has been delayed for months amid challenges from witnesses in the administrative hearings.
Here’s the text of the provision:
“SEC. 607. None of the funds appropriated or other wise made available by this Act may be used to reschedule marijuana (as such term is defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) or to remove marijuana from the schedules established under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).”
The language cleared committee as part of the last CJR spending bill, but it was not ultimately enacted into law. The new measure is scheduled for subcommittee action on Tuesday.
GOP senators have separately tried to block the administration from rescheduling cannabis as part of a standalone bill filed in 2023, but that proposal did not receive a hearing or vote.
Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process remains stalled under the Trump administration.
It’s been over six months since DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney temporarily paused hearings on a proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III. And in a joint report to the judge submitted earlier this month, DEA attorneys and rescheduling proponents said they’re still at an impasse.
To the relief of advocates, the latest CJS bill does continue to preserve a longstanding rider to prevent DOJ from using its funds to interfere in the implementation of state medical marijuana programs that has been part of federal law since 2014.
However, it stipulates that the Justice Department can still enforce a section of U.S. code that calls for increased penalties for distributing cannabis within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, vocational school, college, playground or public housing unit. That language was first included in the last version of the appropriations legislation.
“SEC. 531. (a) None of the funds made available under this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, or with respect to the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, or Puerto Rico, to prevent any of them from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.
(b) Funds made available under this Act to the Department of Justice may be used to enforce violations of 21 U.S.C. 860.”
The CJS bill also keeps intact another longstanding rider preventing DOJ interference in state hemp research programs.
“SEC. 530. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used in contravention of section 7606 (‘‘Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research’’) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79) by the Department of Justice or the Drug Enforcement Administration.”
Meanwhile, a retired professional football player who’s since become an advocate for marijuana policy reform met with top Trump administration officials at the White House last week to discuss the ongoing federal cannabis rescheduling process.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was previously vocal about his support for legalizing cannabis, as well as psychedelics therapy. But during his Senate confirmation process in February, he said that he would defer to DEA on marijuana rescheduling in his new role.
Separately, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was reportedly photographed reviewing a document that appears to be a draft contract to provide services—including “administration-related guidance”—to a firm affiliated with the major marijuana company Trulieve. The visible portion of the document describes a lucrative bonus if a certain “matter resolves,” with an “additional ‘Super Success Fee’” for other “exclusive policy remedies.”
Last month, the former congressman reiterated his own support for rescheduling cannabis—suggesting in an interview with a Florida Republican lawmaker that the GOP could win more of the youth vote by embracing marijuana reform.
Gaetz also said last month that Trump’s endorsement of a Schedule III reclassification was essentially an attempt to shore up support among young voters rather than a sincere reflection of his personal views about cannabis.
A survey conducted by a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump that was released in April found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms, including rescheduling. And, notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.
Meanwhile, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to legalize medical cannabis.
Amid the stalled marijuana rescheduling process that’s carried over from the last presidential administration, congressional researchers recently reiterated that lawmakers could enact the reform themselves with “greater speed and flexibility” if they so choose, while potentially avoiding judicial challenges.
Meanwhile, a newly formed coalition of professional athletes and entertainers, led by retired boxer Mike Tyson, sent a letter to Trump on Friday—thanking him for past clemency actions while emphasizing the opportunity he has to best former President Joe Biden by rescheduling marijuana, expanding pardons and freeing up banking services for licensed cannabis businesses.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
