Federal Policy

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D), a 27-year veteran of Congress and founding member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, announced this week that he will not seek reelection.

A federal judge in Northern Virginia has denied an attempt to block a recently enacted state law that imposed stricter limits on intoxicating hemp products, with the judge arguing the state “demonstrated that delta-8 THC is a credible threat to the Virginia population.”

The public safety director for Jersey City, New Jersey has filed a federal lawsuit against the state for allowing police officers to consume cannabis while off duty.

A nearly two-thirds majority of U.S. truck drivers and carriers support changing the federal cannabis testing regulations, according to an American Transportation Research Institute report.

The USDA has approved the cultivation of a hemp plant varietal engineered by Growing Together Research Inc. that has genetically reduced levels of THC and cannabichomene (CBC).

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) sent a letter to Division of Arkansas Crime Information Operations Director Rick Stallings outlining safety concerns with the decision to let medical cannabis patients carry concealed handguns.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) recently wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arguing the chamber should prioritize a measure to permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances under federal law over the SAFER Banking Act, which would normalize cannabis banking.

A group of more than 20 attorneys general sent a letter this week urging Congressional leadership to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, which passed a key Senate committee on Wednesday and moves next to the full Senate floor.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act passed the Senate Banking Committee today and is set for consideration by the full Senate. The bipartisan proposal seeks to normalize banking for state-legal cannabis companies.

Congressional Democrats have reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which seeks to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level and implement criminal justice reforms.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability last week advanced a bipartisan measure to let cannabis consumers qualify for security clearances and become federal employees.

Fourteen Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, urging the agency to reject the recent Department of Health and Human Services recommendation to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) introduced a proposal last week that would withhold some federal funds from states and tribes that have legalized cannabis for adults.

The White House press secretary said on Friday that President Biden “has always supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes” despite having championed legislation that fueled the war on drugs.

In a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) asked why the agency has not taken steps to reconsider cannabis’ status as a Schedule I substance.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended that cannabis be moved from a Schedule I to Schedule III substance under federal law.

After a federal appeals court ruled last week that the federal ban on cannabis consumers owning firearms is unconstitutional, the Justice Department informed a separate appeals court that it contests the ruling.

Cannabis research company MMJ International Holdings is preparing a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for allegedly failing to follow federal law as it concerns the cultivation of pharmaceutical cannabis.

Despite growing momentum for cannabis reforms in Congress, the cannabis industry’s federal lobbying expenditures are down from their peak in previous years.

The U.S. House voted this week to add an amendment to the must-pass federal National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would end the prohibition on VA providers helping veterans to access state-legal medical cannabis programs.

A bipartisan U.S. House proposal seeks to end the consideration of prior or current cannabis use when assigning security clearance for federal employment.

Bipartisan federal lawmakers last week introduced legislation aimed at updating the federal hemp rules to ensure that hemp-derived CBD is regulated by the FDA like other legal products found in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages.

Officials have confirmed that Vermont cannabis businesses are ineligible for federal disaster aid for losses caused by the state’s recent floods because cannabis remains a federally prohibited, Schedule I drug.