Senate Committee approves spending bill for medical marijuana states. House committee version of annual appropriations law does not include a different proposal to prevent Justice Department from redistributing cannabis.
On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the spending bill for 2026 covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. The GOP-controlled committee agreed to extend again a long-standing rider which prevents DOJ interfering with state-level laws on medical marijuana.
The base bill, however, does not contain provisions which would prevent the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana during the current process of enacting that reform, initiated by the Biden Administration.
Nebraska has a cannabis program in place, but for reasons unknown, it is excluded from the covered states list.
SEC. 531. The funds provided to the Department of Justice under this Act may not be used to stop any of the following states from passing their own legislation that allows the possession or use of medical marijuana: Alabama, Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri 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.
The Senate bill is also different from that of the House. It does not contain additional language to allow the Justice Department to enforce the section of the U.S. Code which calls for higher penalties if cannabis distribution occurs within 1000 feet of a public housing unit, elementary school or vocational school.
The CJS Bill would continue to protect state industrial hemp 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.
The House’s language, which would prevent the DOJ from rescheduling marijuana, is still a concern for advocates. However the absence of this clause in the Senate CJS base legislation will likely reduce the likelihood that the House version can be implemented when the package reaches the President.
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, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process remains stalled under the Trump administration.
John Mulrooney, DEA Administrative Law judge (ALJ), temporarily halted hearings in June on a proposed move to schedule III of cannabis. In a report submitted to the judge earlier this month by DEA lawyers and rescheduling advocates, they said that there is still no agreement.
The Senate is poised to take an initial step toward confirming President Donald Trump pick to lead DEA next week—a development that many cannabis industry observers believe is necessary for the stalled marijuana rescheduling process to proceed.
Notably, while the nominee, Terrance Cole, has said that examining the rescheduling proposal would be “one of my first priorities” if he’s confirmed for the role, he has refused to say what he wants the result to be and has in the past made comments expressing concerns about the health effects of cannabis.
Robert Murphy, the acting administrator of the DEA, is the only person who can take action at this time on the proposal to reclassify marijuana. According to others, it is more likely that this rule won’t be implemented until a permanent DEA management is in place.
Murphy’s appointment as acting administrator wasn’t widely publicized, but he’s replaced Derek Maltz—who subscribes to the “gateway drug” theory for marijuana—in the role.
DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney initially agreed to delay the rescheduling proceedings after several pro-reform parties requested a leave to file an interlocutory appeal amid allegations that certain DEA officials conspired with anti-rescheduling witnesses who were selected for the hearing.
Originally, hearings on the proposed rescheduling rule were set to commence on January 21, but those were cancelled when Mulrooney granted the appeal motion.
After the appeal, the judge had denied a motion to remove DEA from all rescheduling procedures. The judge argued that DEA was improperly named as “chief proponent” for the proposed rule due to allegations that ex-parte communications were made with witnesses who opposed rescheduling and that this “resulted” in a taint that could not be removed.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department told a federal court in January that it should pause a lawsuit challenging DEA’s marijuana rescheduling process after Mulrooney canceled the hearings.
Also in January, Mulrooney condemned DEA over its “unprecedented and astonishing” defiance of a key directive related to evidence it is seeking to use in the marijuana rescheduling proposal.
The issue is DEA’s refusal to digitally submit the tens and thousands of comments received by it in response to a proposed rule that would move cannabis from Schedule II to III.
Mulrooney didn’t hesitate to call out DEA on various procedural errors throughout this rescheduling.
For example, in December he criticized the agency for making a critical “blunder” in its effort to issue subpoenas to force Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials to testify in hearings—but he allowed the agency to fix the error and ultimately granted the request.
Relatedly, a federal judge also dismissed a lawsuit seeking to compel DEA to turn over its communications with the anti-cannabis organization.
Mulrooney had separately denied a cannabis research company’s request to allow it to add a young medical marijuana patient and advocate as a witness in the upcoming rescheduling hearing.
Also, one of the nation’s leading marijuana industry associations asked the judge to clarify whether it will be afforded the opportunity to cross-examine DEA during the upcoming hearings on the cannabis rescheduling proposal.
Further, a coalition of health professionals that advocates for cannabis reform recently asked that the DEA judge halt future marijuana rescheduling hearings until a federal court is able to address a series of allegations they’re raising about the agency’s witness selection process.
Separately, the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a spending bill that contains provisions to block the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana.
Public interest in the rescheduling process has been high. The rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III would not make it federally legal, but the reform could allow licensed cannabis businesses access to federal tax deductions as well as remove some research obstacles.
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Meanwhile, two GOP senators introduced a bill in February that would continue to block marijuana businesses from taking federal tax deductions under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code 280E—even if it’s ultimately rescheduled.
Aside from the delays in hearings, the new leadership at DEA is also a complicating factor.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States. He has been vocal before about his support of cannabis legalization and psychedelics as therapy. But during his Senate confirmation process in February, he said that he would defer to DEA on marijuana rescheduling in his new role.
Separately, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was reportedly photographed reviewing a document that appears to be a draft contract to provide services—including “administration-related guidance”—to a firm affiliated with the major marijuana company Trulieve. The visible portion of the document describes a lucrative bonus if a certain “matter resolves,” with an “additional ‘Super Success Fee'” for other “exclusive policy remedies.”
Last month, the former congressman reiterated his own support for rescheduling cannabis—suggesting in an interview with a Florida Republican lawmaker that the GOP could win more of the youth vote by embracing marijuana reform.
Gaetz also said last month that Trump’s endorsement of a Schedule III reclassification was essentially an attempt to shore up support among young voters rather than a sincere reflection of his personal views about cannabis.
A survey conducted by a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump that was released in April found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms, including rescheduling. Notably, Republicans are even more in favour of the states legalizing marijuana, without federal interference, than is the average voter.
Trump chose former Florida Attorney-General Pam Bondi to lead the DOJ and Senate approved this choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. As attorney general of Florida, Bondi opposed the legalization of medical marijuana.
Amid the stalled marijuana rescheduling process that’s carried over from the last presidential administration, congressional researchers recently reiterated that lawmakers could enact the reform themselves with “greater speed and flexibility” if they so choose, while potentially avoiding judicial challenges.
Meanwhile, a newly formed coalition of professional athletes and entertainers, led by retired boxer Mike Tyson, sent a letter to Trump on Friday—thanking him for past clemency actions while emphasizing the opportunity he has to best former President Joe Biden by rescheduling marijuana, expanding pardons and freeing up banking services for licensed cannabis businesses.
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