Lawmakers in the U.S. House Appropriations Committee have voted to block the Biden Administration’s effort to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, Forbes reports.
The Republican-controlled committee on Tuesday approved an amendment to a Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) funding bill that, if enacted, would block the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using any federal funds to reschedule or deschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
In 2022, President Joe Biden (D) pardoned all federal cannabis possession charges and tasked top administration officials — including the Secretary of Health and Human Services and U.S. Attorney General — with reviewing the plant’s Schedule I status. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended that cannabis be moved to Schedule III under federal law; the rescheduling plan was formally announced by the president in May of this year. Ultimately, if cannabis were moved to Schedule III, it would remain federally illegal but would be significantly more accessible for research and medicinal purposes.
The House Appropriations Committee also rejected an amendment from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) — who co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus — that sought to block the DOJ from spending resources to interfere with state-legal or tribal cannabis programs, including adult-use reforms, the report said.
House Republicans’ effort to block cannabis rescheduling and other reforms appears to run counter to public sentiment after a Pew Research poll in March found 88% of Americans believe that cannabis should be made legal for at least medical purposes, if not for adult use outright.
Meanwhile, according to a survey published in April, most Americans no longer believe cannabis use carries a stigma and 72% said that cannabis is only going to get more popular.
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