DOJ Targets Biden Cannabis Rules, GOP Seeks to Block Rescheduling

OG Article By Dario Sabaghi Watch Today's LIVE Episode on X and Rumble

and Youtube

September 15 2025

DOJ Rolls Back Cannabis Rules

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is withdrawing 54 Biden-era cannabis rules. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the move on September 8, 2025, effective September 11. These rules, part of the 2022 Medical Cannabis and CBD Research Expansion Act, aimed to ease medical cannabis and CBD research. They also included hemp testing exemptions for labs under USDA plans. The DOJ's action creates uncertainty for research.

A White House official told Marijuana Moment this does not affect the cannabis rescheduling proposal. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed changes to research application processes, but future steps are unclear.

GOP Moves to Block Rescheduling

The GOP-led House Appropriations Committee passed a 2026 funding bill (34-28) on September 10, 2025. It blocks DOJ funds for rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I. The bill states: “None of the funds… may be used to reschedule cannabis… or remove [it] from the schedules established under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act.” This reserves rescheduling power for Congress.

President Trump, on August 11, 2025, said he is reviewing Biden’s rescheduling proposal, expecting a decision soon.

GOP Divisions on Cannabis

Nine Republican lawmakers urged the DOJ to stop rescheduling in August 2025. Their letter claimed moving cannabis to Schedule III sends a harmful message to youth and benefits large cannabis firms with tax breaks. However, a March 2025 Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll shows 67% of GOP voters support rescheduling.

Rescheduling to Schedule III would recognize cannabis’s medical use, ease research, improve banking access, and reduce taxes for cannabis businesses.