House Subcommittee Advances Bill to Block Cannabis Rescheduling
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies has approved a spending bill that prohibits the Department of Justice from using funds to reschedule or deschedule cannabis. The bill, which now heads to the full committee for consideration, provides nearly $77 billion in discretionary allocations, including $37.3 billion to the Department of Justice.
The bill includes a provision that specifically prohibits the use of funds to reschedule marijuana, defined as a drug under the Controlled Substances Act, or to remove it from the schedules established under the act. This move aims to prevent the executive branch from unilaterally rescheduling or descheduling cannabis, which has been a topic of controversy in recent years.
The subcommittee’s approval of the bill comes as the House is considering several pieces of legislation aimed at federally legalizing cannabis. The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which passed twice in the House under the sponsorship of Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., would remove cannabis from the CSA and allow states to regulate its use. The Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) 2.0 Act, introduced by Ohio Republican Reps. Dave Joyce and Max Miller, along with Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, would also federally legalize cannabis by removing it from the CSA.
The bill also maintains a longstanding rider that prevents the Department of Justice from using tax dollars to prosecute medical cannabis patients and state-licensed medical cannabis businesses. This rider has been included in each fiscal year since FY2015 and blocks the Department of Justice from interfering with states and territories that implement their own laws authorizing the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.
The subcommittee’s move to maintain the rider comes after President Donald Trump’s budget request in June called for repealing it. However, the decision rests with Congress.
Aside from the cannabis-related provisions, the bill supports various Trump administration mandates, including preventing the use of Department of Justice funds to pay for abortion and ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The bill also intends to combat transnational organized crime and reduce the availability of illicit drugs through funding the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces with $400 million.
The bill’s approval is seen as a major win for cannabis prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which commended the subcommittee’s approval of the cannabis-related provisions. The group stated that the bill is a major win for public health and safety.
