Can Republicans Use the Spending Bill to Prevent Cannabis Being Rescheduled?

Just when we all started to think maybe we were on the same page, we discovered that, once again, that wasn’t quite the case. This time, that’s taking the form of amendments to a spending bill that aims to block the DOJ from using federal funds to reschedule cannabis, reject protections for state-legal cannabis, and enhance some penalties.

House Appropriations Committee Votes to Block Cannabis Rescheduling

On July 9^th, the GOP-led House Appropriations Committee voted to approve a spending bill that was amended to prevent the DOJ from using federal funds to reschedule cannabis. In the past there have been attempts from GOP senators to block the Biden Administration from rescheduling cannabis, but those bills while filed never received a hearing or a vote.

“Blocking cannabis rescheduling is a significant misstep because it hinders vital research and maintains an outdated and punitive approach to a substance that has proven benefits,” David Craig, CMO at Missouri’s licensed cannabis company Illicit Gardens, wrote in an email to Forbes.

In case you missed it, the Biden Administration has made it part of their mission to be the first to really act on reform of cannabis laws, righting a long-ignored wrong by rescheduling cannabis in the Controlled Substances Act. The process has already started, and the DEA is currently under a period of public comment that lasts through July 21^st.

While there is overwhelming support for this change both from citizens and politicians alike, it’s clear that those stuck in their ways don’t plan to give up.

The Amendment Also Strips Protections for State Licensed Cannabis

The committee also amended a historically approved rider that protects state-sanctioned medical cannabis programs to enhance penalties for sales near schools and parks while rejecting an amendment that would’ve extended those protections to all tribal and state-legal and compliant cannabis businesses.

“We should be empowering states to regulate the product how they see fit, and this amendment would help just do that,” Representative Dave Joyce (R-OH), member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus said per the Marijuana Moment.

“The disparity between state and federal policies have created a loophole that has allowed illicit operators to thrive and jeopardize public safety. It’s time to close the loophole, make sure products are safe and out of the hands of youth.”

So, not only did they vote in favor of keeping cannabis schedule I (which will continue to tax state-legal cannabis companies at insane rates), but they also voted against extending protections to those same businesses who are compliant with often strict state regulations.

Will This Amendment to the Spending Bill Prevent Cannabis from being Rescheduled?

Including this ban in a spending bill is a tactic often used to pass legislation that wouldn’t get far enough to see a vote otherwise. The rider protecting states’ rights to allow medical cannabis has been a part of the spending bill passed by the federal government for a decade now, but apparently, lawmakers aren’t ready to extend those protections beyond the medical marijuana industry.

While the spending bill was passed with and currently contains language that aims to block federal funds from being used to reschedule cannabis, there’s a good chance that the bill won’t pass in time for it to be anything but “symbolic,” according to MJBizDaily.

When we talked to the USCC after their webinar speculating on the timeline from start to finish for rescheduling cannabis, it was estimated that the soonest we could see the process finalized was this fall, just before the election. More realistically, it’s still likely to happen before the end of the year if the DEA doesn’t deviate from the timeframe of similar past substance reviews.

Right now, it seems like more of a race – and we’re all just waiting anxiously to see who reaches the finish line first. Until then, we’ll continue to monitor the progress of both this spending bill and the DEA’s progress on moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.