Congressional Leaders Drop Attempt To Block Marijuana Rescheduling...

Bipartisan House and Senate leaders have rejected a provision that would’ve
blocked the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana—while
maintaining a longstanding rider protecting state medical cannabis programs
from federal interference.

While a GOP-controlled House committee advanced a version of Commerce,
Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations legislation
over the summer that would’ve prevented DOJ from rescheduling cannabis, a
new bicameral agreement unveiled on Monday omits that language.

The move comes weeks after President Donald Trump issued an executive order
directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to expeditiously complete the process
of moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled
Substances Act (CSA).

*Here’s the language of the provision advanced by the House Appropriations
Committee but excluded from the latest agreement: *

“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).”

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, on Monday, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said a
marijuana rescheduling appeal process “remains pending” despite Trump’s
executive order.

The newly unveiled bicameral CJS bill, which is being combined with
legislation to fund parts of the government covering interior, environment
and energy and water Development, also contains a rider that’s been
annually renewed since 2014 barring the Justice Department from using its
funds to interfere in the implementation of state medical marijuana laws.

However, for reasons that are unclear, the rider that lists each state that
would be protected excludes Nebraska.

*Here’s the text of that provision: *

“SEC. 531. 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.”

Missing from the latest version is an addition to that rider that the House
previously included that would have authorized enhanced penalties for sales
near schools and parks.

That provision specifically stipulated that the Justice Department could
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.

However, a joint explanatory statement for the new spending package also
says Congress “directs the Department to appropriately enforce the Federal
Drug-Free School Zones Act (2 1 U.S.C. 860), to ensure that areas with
young children, including schools and playgrounds remain drug-free.”

That appears to be related to a report from the Senate committee that was
released earlier this year stating that the medical marijuana protection
rider “does not explicitly preclude” U.S. attorneys from enforcing a
federal statute on selling or manufacturing controlled substances in “areas
with young children, including schools and playgrounds.”

*The new bill also maintains protections for state industrial hemp research
programs under the 2014 Farm Bill: *

“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.”

“President Trump set an important foundation by signing three
appropriations bills into law in November, and we are carrying that
momentum into the new year,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom
Cole (R-OK), said in a press release. “This bipartisan, bicameral package
reflects steady progress toward completing FY26 funding responsibly.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) said the overall
deal is a “fiscally responsible package that restrains spending while
providing essential federal investments that will improve water
infrastructure in our country, enhance our nation’s energy and national
security, and spur scientific research necessary to maintain U.S.
competitiveness.”

Advocates may welcome the exclusion of the rescheduling provision and
inclusion of medical marijuana protections in the CJS bill, but many
cannabis stakeholders have protested Trump’s signing of a separate
appropriations measure in November that includes provisions to ban most
consumable hemp products.

However, when the president issued the marijuana rescheduling order last
month, he also directed Congress to reevaluate that policy and ensure that
people can continue to access full-spectrum CBD products. A federal agency
will also be moving to cover such products for certain patients under
Medicare and Medicaid.

The post Congressional Leaders Drop Attempt To Block Marijuana
Rescheduling, While Preserving State Medical Cannabis Protections appeared
first on Marijuana Moment.