Federal Policy

In a letter last week, sixty-six members of Congress asked President Joe Biden (D) to use his clemency powers to “address longstanding injustices” in the U.S. legal system during the final months of his presidency.

A new draft of the Farm Bill includes language aimed at closing intoxicating hemp loopholes, but stops short of setting per-serving or per-container limits for hemp-derived THC.

USDA officials last week delayed the enforcement of a rule requiring consumer hemp products to be tested by labs registered with the DEA; it’s the third year in a row that officials have delayed enforcing the rule.

A chief administrative law judge ruled Thursday to delay the DEA’s hearing for expert testimony on the rescheduling of cannabis under federal law until likely January or February 2025.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of eight licensed New Mexico cannabis operators alleges that federal agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs & Border Protection unlawfully seized state-legal cannabis products and cash, violating the companies’ Fifth Amendment right to due process.

The American Institute of CPAs is asking the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide tax guidance for cannabis businesses as the Biden Administration moves to reschedule cannabis under federal law.

The Army has updated its policies to officially ban the use of delta-8 THC and other intoxicating hemp products by soldiers.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over whether a truck driver who was fired for failing a drug test after using a CBD product advertised as containing no THC can sue the manufacturer under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

In a recent campaign agenda update discussing plans “to deliver for Black men and their families,” Vice President Kamala Harris (D) pledged to federally legalize cannabis if she is elected to be the next U.S. president.

Democratic U.S. Representatives Jarrold Nadler (D-NY) and Fran Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) this week called on DEA head Anne Milgram to take “swift action” in moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law.

A recent report sponsored by the CDC says the federal government should be more involved with cannabis policy as more and more states enact reforms to end prohibition.

Senators in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week passed the DOOBIE Act, which would guarantee that applicants for federal positions or security clearances are not denied due to past cannabis use.

Former President Richard Nixon — who is credited with launching the drug war — said in a recently uncovered 1973 White House recording that cannabis was “not particularly dangerous” but that legalizing it would be “the wrong signal at this time.”

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is launching a new Local Emphasis Program to investigate and identify potential workplace hazards in the Colorado cannabis industry.

Former president Donald Trump said last weekend that he supports the federal rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III and giving cannabis companies access to banking services.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that prosecutors cannot file gun possession charges against a Texas woman who admitted to consuming cannabis, citing a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that says modern firearm restrictions must be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

The DEA has scheduled a December 2 hearing to review expert opinions on the proposed rescheduling of cannabis to a Schedule III drug, adding a procedural step that could delay the process until after the November election.

Former President Donald Trump suggested during a press conference at his Florida home that he has grown more supportive of the idea of cannabis reforms as the policies gain traction across the country.

About nine out of every ten comments submitted to the DEA on the proposal to federally reschedule cannabis either favored the reforms or called on the government to go further and remove cannabis entirely from the federal drug schedule.

The attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, and South Dakota submitted a letter to federal regulators opposing the rescheduling of cannabis.

A report issued this week by the Minority Cannabis Business Association claims the industry could generate more than 50,000 new jobs by 2030 if the federal government were to follow through on its cannabis rescheduling plan.