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.