GOP-Led Congressional Committee Votes To Block Trump From Rescheduling Marijuana

A GOP-controlled House committee has approved a 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 Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee passed the spending
measure covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS).
This marks the second time the panel’s base legislation contained 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 now-stalled
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).”

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, and the chamber’s version of
the current CJS spending bill does not contain a similar provision.

President Donald Trump announced late last month that the administration
would be making a decision on cannabis rescheduling within weeks, without
signaling where he’d come down on the issue that he previously endorsed on
the campaign trail.

For advocates, there’s some relief over the fact that the latest CJS bill
separately continues 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.”


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

The Appropriations Committee separately approved a spending bill on Tuesday
with an attached report that says researchers should be studying a broader
range of marijuana products that better represent “the variety, quality and
potency of commonly available cannabis strains” that consumers are actually
using.

Members also recently passed legislation covering Financial Service and
General Government (FSGG). The measure drew criticism from a Democratic
congresswoman over the omission of provisions to protect banks that work
with state-licensed marijuana and hemp businesses.

The legislation also includes a report directing federal agencies to assess
the “adequacy” of state-level marijuana regulatory models, as well as
longstanding provisions in the bill itself blocking Washington, D.C. from
using its tax dollars to legalize cannabis sales.

*Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.*

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Rescheduling Marijuana appeared first on Marijuana Moment.