WASHINGTON – Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) each introduced amendments this week that would block the latest efforts to thwart rescheduling and ban consumable hemp products.
Even if the Drug Enforcement Agency decides to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) after the public comment period for the proposed change ends July 22, the agency may not be allowed to implement the change. Last month, a Republican-led House subcommittee added language to the 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (CJS) that would block the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using appropriated funds to reschedule or deschedule cannabis.
Mace has been an outspoken advocate for complete descheduling, but the first-term South Carolina representative also supports rescheduling. She made a live announcement on social media from the floor of the Republican National Convention Wednesday signaling her commitment to drug policy reform.
“I filed an amendment today to help hemp and help cannabis in an appropriations bill—the CJS bill,” she said. “We want to make sure rescheduling happens.”
Tlaib, who’s been pushing for cannabis policy reform since joining the House of Representatives in 2009, reportedly has introduced a similar amendment aimed at stopping the committee in charge of drafting the CJS bill from interfering with the DOJ’s ability to reschedule cannabis.
The hemp side of the industry also is facing game-changing challenges from GOP House lawmakers in charge of drafting the 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, often called the Farm Bill. In a vote of 29 to 26 that took place on July 10, the House Appropriations Committee approved language that would effectively ban the sale of consumable hemp products like Delta-8 with any quantifiable amount of THC or “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects.” If passed, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would be responsible for determining the effects of other cannabinoids.
McGarvey, who took office in 2023, long has supported the full legalization of cannabis at the federal level. His recently submitted amendment strikes section 760 from the Farm Bill, removing any language that would prohibit the sale of consumable hemp products while reaffirming the authority of the states to establish and enforce laws to regulate the sale of hemp products.
