An influential House of Representatives legislative committee last week voted to block the Trump administration from reclassifying cannabis under federal drug laws. If passed, the provision attached to a key spending bill would bar the government from changing the status of cannabis under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
The House Appropriations Committee approved the must-pass spending measure covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) on September 10 by a vote of 34-28. This is the second time the panel has approved language to block rescheduling cannabis under the CSA after first passing a similar provision in July, according to a report from Marijuana Moment.
A provision of the bill would prevent the Department of Justice from spending any resources to reschedule cannabis under the CSA or remove it from the purview of the law entirely. Section 607 of the spending bill states:
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise 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).
If approved as part of the final version of the spending bill, the provision would block an effort begun by the Biden administration to reclassify cannabis under the CSA. The proposal would remove cannabis from the CSA’s most strict classification, Schedule I, and place it under the less restrictive Schedule III. Such a move would likely ease research into cannabis and relieve businesses in the regulated cannabis industry of significant tax burdens.
The proposal is now under consideration by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which began hearings on the Biden administration’s rescheduling plan late last year. Progress stalled, however, after parties involved in the hearings filed objections alleging the DEA had communicated with groups committed to blocking progress on cannabis policy reform prior to the selection of witnesses.
Bill Retains Some Medical Cannabis Protections
Although the approval of the language to block cannabis rescheduling poses a significant threat to progress on policy reform, the legislation maintains a budget rider to protect state-legal medical cannabis programs from federal interference. The language, which has been approved as a part of spending bills since 2014, forbids the Department of Justice from spending funds to interfere with medical cannabis programs approved by state, territorial, and tribal governments.
This year’s spending bill, however, also includes language that weakens the protections afforded by the decade-old ban on federal interference with regulated medical cannabis programs. If included in the final version of the bill, the provision would allow the Justice Department to enforce provisions of federal law that call for increased penalties for distributing cannabis within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, vocational school, college, playground, or public housing unit.
Steph Sherer, founder of medical cannabis patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, said in a statement from the organization that approval of the provision by the committee, which has a GOP majority, threatens patients and providers across the country.
“It seems House Republicans are out of touch—even with President Trump when it comes to medical cannabis,” Sherer said. “The Administration is moving forward with rescheduling through the established federal process, while these appropriations riders would roll back patient protections and stop progress. These riders are a green light for the DEA to raid state medical cannabis programs. It’s the Project 2025 playbook in action—federal agencies sent in to override voters and legislatures, this time targeting patients and providers.”
Trump Administration Considering Rescheduling
The bill’s approval by the House Appropriations Committee came as President Donald Trump and his administration continue to mull the rescheduling proposal. On August 13, the president said during a press conference that his administration will soon decide on the plan.
“Some people like it. Some people hate it—people hate the whole concept of marijuana, because it does bad for the children [and] it does bad for people that are older than children,” Trump said at the press conference. “But we’re looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over the next few weeks—and that determination, hopefully, will be the right one.”
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The information in this article and any included images or charts are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations, or your health, you should always consult with an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.
