Senators Advance Bill to Protect State Medical Cannabis Programs

In mid July, The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the 2026 spending legislation covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS). The GOP-controlled panel agreed to again extend a longstanding rider that prevents DOJ from interfering in the implementation of state-level medical cannabis laws.

However, the bill doesn’t include provisions that would bar the Justice Department from rescheduling cannabis, a reform that was initiated under the Biden administration, according to Marijuana Moment.

CJS Legislation Details

For reasons not specified, the medical cannabis protections section of the bill omits Nebraska from the list of covered states with cannabis programs in place.

The proposal also doesn’t include additional language to make it so the Justice Department could still enforce a section of U.S. code that calls for increased penalties for distributing cannabis within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, vocational school, college, playground or public housing unit, according to Marijuana Moment.

People are concerned about the House language that would restrict DOJ from rescheduling cannabis, but the fact that it was not incorporated into the base bill for the Senate CJS legislation likely diminishes the chances it will ultimately be enacted when the final package is delivered to the president’s desk.

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