Republicans Introduce Amendment to Prevent Federal Funds from Being Used for Cannabis Rescheduling in the U.S.

Republican senators in the United States have introduced an amendment to prevent the Department of Justice from using federal resources to reschedule cannabis under federal law. 

According to Marijuana Moment, the proposal was filed by Senators Ted Budd of North Carolina and James Lankford of Oklahoma and is tied to the spending bill that funds the Department of Justice for fiscal year 2026.

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The amendment establishes that no budgetary resources may be used to remove cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), where the substance is classified alongside drugs considered to have a high potential for abuse. In practice, the text seeks to block any administrative progress toward rescheduling cannabis to another category under the law.

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According to Marijuana Moment, the initiative comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December 2025 directing the Department of Justice to complete the process of rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III of the CSA. This change could alter regulatory, tax, and research aspects related to the substance at the federal level.

The proposal put forth by Republican senators revives a similar provision that had been discussed earlier in the House of Representatives but was ultimately removed from the final text during legislative negotiations. The inclusion of the amendment in the budget proposal still depends on analysis and potential voting in the Senate.

With information from Marijuana Moment.