Earlier this month, the House Appropriations Committee passed 12 funding bills to determine federal spending in fiscal year 2025. Two of these bills, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025 (H.R.9026) and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025 (H.R.9027), respectively include language intended to disrupt the Biden Administration’s move to reschedule marijuana, and to mirror the controversial Miller Amendment put forth in the House draft of the 2024 Farm Bill.
Subcommittee On Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Blocks Rescheduling of Marijuana
The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025 (H.R.9026), includes language that would bar the Department of Justice from using its funds to reschedule marijuana. This comes in response to an earlier DOJ proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
SEC. 623. NONE OF THE FUNDS APPROPRIATED OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE BY THIS ACT MAY BE USED TO RESCHEDULE MARIJUANA (AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN SECTION 102 OF THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT (21 U.S.C. 802)) OR TO REMOVE MARIJUANA FROM THE SCHEDULES ESTABLISHED UNDER SECTION 202 OF THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT (21 U.S.C. 812).
It is uncertain whether this language, which only applies to the 2025 fiscal year, would have any real impact on the DOJ's proposed rescheduling, as the DOJ could promulgate a final rule solidifying the rescheduling as soon as this fall before the House proposed budgeting takes effect.
It is also unlikely that the Democratic-majority Senate would approve a funding bill that blocks a Biden administration priority.
Since its passage, there have already been bipartisan attempts to strike the rescheduling restriction that’s currently included in the 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) spending bill.
House Appropriations Subcommittee On Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Includes Miller Amendment, Redefining Hemp
In a separate bill, the House Appropriations Subcommittee On Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies included language to clarify the definition of hemp, effectively prohibiting cannabinoid products such as delta-8 THC and CBD containing any “quantifiable” amount of THC from being sold. Under this proposal, cannabinoids that are “synthesized or manufactured outside of the plant” would no longer meet the definition of legal hemp.
CLICK TO READ NEW DEFINITIONS IN H.R.9027 - AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2025
Report language was added to the bill by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) (watch testimony here) to direct the FDA to look into the health and safety effects of cannabinoid products, encouraging the agency to “assert a stronger commitment to identifying lawful federal regulatory parameters” such as labeling, testing, and age limits. While this directive is nonbinding, it does signal Congress' desire for the FDA "to adequately regulate, not ban any hemp products, even those that are potentially impairing.”
INTOXICATING CANNABINOIDS.—THE COMMITTEE DIRECTS THE FDA TO EVALUATE THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS OF INGESTIBLE, INHALABLE, OR TOPICAL PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET THAT CONTAIN INTOXICATING CANNABINOIDS. THE COMMITTEE ENCOURAGES THE FDA TO ASSERT A STRONGER COMMITMENT TO IDENTIFYING LAWFUL FEDERAL REGULATORY PARAMETERS THAT WILL PROTECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SUCH AS LABELING REQUIREMENTS ON ALL HEMP-DERIVED PRODUCTS; TESTING PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS TO ENSURE PRODUCT COMPLIANCE AND ADVERSE EVENT REPORTING; PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS TO PREVENT MARKETING TO MINORS; AND MANDATORY AGE LIMITS FOR THESE PRODUCTS AT THE POINT OF PURCHASE. FDA SHOULD PROVIDE A BRIEFING TO THE COMMITTEE WITHIN 180 DAYS OF THE PASSAGE OF THIS BILL ON THE AUTHORITIES NEEDED TO ADEQUATELY REGULATE CANNABINOID HEMP PRODUCTS, INCLUDING AUTHORITIES TO SUPPORT CONSUMER SAFETY.
Matt Cartwright (D-PA), a ranking member of the Committee, spoke highly about the benefits of hemp at the Committee Markup:
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