A newly reintroduced federal cannabis legalization bill aims to ease long‑standing barriers to research while establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the nation’s emerging industry. The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), unveiled this week by Sens. Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer, and Ron Wyden, would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and direct multiple federal agencies to expand scientific study of the plant and its effects.
Research Expansion And Federal Oversight
A central component of the CAOA is a broad mandate to accelerate cannabis research across several federal departments. The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support studies examining the impacts of cannabis use, including public health outcomes, consumer behavior, and product safety. The legislation also requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to carry out clinical trials on medical cannabis for veterans living with chronic pain and post‑traumatic stress disorder, a long‑requested step that advocates say could improve access to evidence‑based treatment options.
The bill further instructs the Government Accountability Office to evaluate how legalization affects public safety, youth use, impaired driving, and other key indicators. To build long‑term research capacity, the CAOA establishes grants for colleges and universities, with a focus on minority‑serving institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics would also begin compiling demographic data on cannabis industry workers and business owners, creating a clearer picture of the sector’s economic footprint.
“The only reefer madness I’m seeing is the continued federal prohibition of cannabis,” Wyden said in a statement about the bill. “Our legislation is the most comprehensive proposal on the books to end federal cannabis prohibition while keeping public health and safety front and center. The federal government needs to get with the times, and our bill is the way to do it.”
Public Safety, Regulation, and Justice Measures
Beyond research, the CAOA includes wide‑ranging provisions to regulate production, labeling, and sales through a new Center for Cannabis Products. The bill removes federal penalties for state‑legal cannabis activity, establishes standards for impaired‑driving prevention, and creates grant programs to help states address illicit market activity. It also eliminates tax code restrictions that prevent cannabis businesses from claiming standard deductions and sets an excise tax structure for regulated products.
Schumer emphasized the bill’s justice‑focused goals.
“The over‑criminalization of cannabis has destroyed far too many lives, disproportionately harming communities of color,” said Leader Schumer. “Our Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is necessary and would correct historical wrongs while investing in safety, research, workers’ rights, and banking accessibility for the industry. The movement is budding, and I won’t stop until restorative justice is achieved. The American people overwhelmingly support the federal legalization of cannabis—it’s long past time the government caught up.”
Advocates Applaud the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
The reintroduction of the CAOA was applauded by cannabis policy reform advocates including Bryon Adinoff, president of Doctors for Drug Policy Reform. He believes that the legislation would be better for patients and researchers than a proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act to Schedule III under consideration by the Trump administration. Rescheduling, he said, “would represent an important acknowledgment of medical reality, but it still falls far short of the comprehensive reform that is needed.”
“Cannabis would remain within the Controlled Substances Act, preserving many of the barriers that have distorted research, limited product standardization, and placed physicians and patients in legal uncertainty for decades,” Adinoff told Marijuana Moment. “The federal government has already effectively conceded that cannabis has accepted medical use in the United States, a position that is incompatible with continued criminalization at the federal level.”
“What is ultimately needed is legislation that provides a regulatory framework and full federal descheduling, such as the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, so cannabis policy can finally be approached as a matter of public health rather than criminal law,” he added.
