Here’s an overview of all the marijuana-related bills currently under consideration in the United States Congress.
Per congressional rules, any marijuana-related bill introduced before January 2023 is now inactive. Bills filed on or after January 2023 will become inactive (if not enacted into law) before the next legislative session in January 2025. Legislators have the option to reintroduce any inactive bill if they choose to do so.
At present, there are 21 active marijuana-related bills, with varying levels of support and progress. Below is a look at each of these measures.
SAFE / SAFER Banking Act
Sponsors: 165
Filed: April (House) and September (Senate) 2023
The SAFE and SAFER Banking Acts would allow banks and other financial institutions to provide financial services to marijuana businesses that are licensed under state law, while also allowing marijuana businesses to take standard IRS tax deductions that they are currently not allowed to do.
In the House, the SAFE Banking Act has 128 sponsors. In the Senate, the SAFER Banking Act has 37 sponsors, and was approved through the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in September with bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed for months to put the SAFER Banking Act to a vote of the full Senate, but has not yet set a date.
MORE Act
Sponsors: 93
Filed: September 2023
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would entirely deschedule marijuana, removing it from the federal Controlled Substances Act. For states that allow marijuana stores, a 5% federal excise tax would be placed on all sales for the first two years, with it increasing to 8% by the fifth year.
The Act also includes several provisions to protect marijuana consumers, including preventing them from being denied public benefits and allowing marijuana convictions to be expunged (removed) from people’s records.
In 2022, when Democrats controlled the House, the MORE Act was given approval through the chamber, but it failed to receive consideration in the Senate, which at the time saw an even split between Democrats and Republicans.
Veterans Equal Access Act
Sponsors: 29
Filed: April 2023
This Veterans Equal Access Act would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to authorize providers to discuss medical marijuana with veterans and recommend its use if the patient is located in a legal marijuana state and the physician believes it could be beneficial.
Under current law, physicians at the VA are prohibited from discussing marijuana with their patients, and veterans who receive care from VA facilities cannot receive the forms required to participate in medical marijuana programs – regardless of whether the state they reside in has legalized it for medical use. The Veterans Equal Access Act would change this by providing federal protection to VA doctors who discuss and recommend medical cannabis.
Although there are several bills that would address medical marijuana access or research for veterans, the Veterans Equal Access Act has the most support.
Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act
Sponsors: 27
Filed: April 2023
Filed in April, the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act would allow veterans “to use, possess, or transport medical marijuana and to discuss the use of medical marijuana with a physician of the Department of Veterans Affairs as authorized by a State or Indian Tribe, and for other purposes.”
CAOA
Sponsors: 18
Filed: May 2024
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) would also deschedule marijuana, expunge past convictions, and establish a federal marijuana excise tax. Additionally, it would go further by setting federal regulatory standards for marijuana sales similar to those for alcohol. This includes creating a Center for Cannabis Products within the FDA, which would be responsible for regulating “the production, labeling, distribution, sales, and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry.”
Although the measure currently only has 18 sponsors —the same as when it was filed weeks ago—it has the support of top Senate Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
CURE Act
Sponsors: 11
Filed: September 2023
The Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act would prohibit federal agencies from considering past or present marijuana use when determining whether an individual is suitable for federal employment or eligible for a security clearance. It also establishes a review process for past applications.
STATES 2.0 Act
Sponsors: 10
Filed: December 2023
The STATES 2.0 Act was filed in December by State Representative Dave Joyce (R) along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors. The measure would amend the Federal Controlled Substances Act so that those acting in compliance with state drug laws laws would no longer be committing a federal crime.
The measure would also explicitly allow marijuana commerce between legal marijuana states and tribes, and it would amend an IRS regulation (section 280E) that prohibits businesses from taking tax deductions if they run a federally illegal business, even if the business is properly following their state’s laws.
In addition, the STATES Act would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on the impacts of marijuana legalization on traffic safety.
The STATES 2.0 Act is similar to the States Reform Act filed in October, although it has twice as many sponsors.
RESPECT Resolution
Sponsors: 8
Filed: January 2024
The RESPECT Resolution urges “action to increase equity within cannabis policy and the legal cannabis marketplace”.
The measure was filed in January with seven cosponsors, all Democrat. In a press release announcing the resolution Congressmember Lee said the proposal “aims to elevate the importance of equity within the legal cannabis marketplace, address disparities and proactively address and repair the most egregious effects of the War on Drugs on communities of color”.
RESPECT stands for Realizing Equitable & Sustainable Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades.
Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act
Sponsors: 7
Filed: January 2023
This bipartisan measure was filed in January, 2023 by Congressmember Gregory Steube (R-FL) with no cosponsors. It now has seven total sponsors.
This bill “prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from denying a veteran any VA benefit due to participation in a state-approved marijuana program. For veterans participating in these approved programs, the VA must ensure its health care providers (1) discuss marijuana use with such veterans and adjust treatment plans accordingly, and (2) record such use in the veterans’ medical records.”
Under the bill, the VA “shall authorize physicians and other VA health care providers to provide recommendations to veterans who are residents of states with approved programs.”
CLAIM Act
Sponsors: 7
Filed: April 2023
Filed in April by Senator Bob Menendez in the Senate and Congressmember Nydia Velázquez in the House, the CLAIM Act is a bill “to create a safe harbor for insurers engaging in the business of insurance in connection with a cannabis-related legitimate business, and for other purposes.”
The measure has not received a new cosponsor in either chamber since it was filed last April.
Second Amendment Protection Act
Sponsors: 6
Filed: January 2023
Currently, federal firearms laws prohibit an individual who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing a firearm or ammunition. This bill exempts from the prohibition an individual who uses marijuana for a medical purpose in accordance with state law.
States Reform Act
Sponsors: 5
Filed: October 2023
The States Reform Act (House Bill 6028) b by Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) in October, cosponsored by Representatives Tom McClintock (R-CA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), David Trone (D-MD) and Dean Phillips (D-MN).
The measure, according to its official legislative brief, “Federally decriminalizes cannabis and fully defers to state powers over prohibition and commercial regulation.” It “performs confirming amendments to relevant statutes to ensure that cannabis products are treated like alcohol by amended statutes in line with Title II of the Act.”
Hope Act
Sponsors: 5
Filed: April 2023
This bipartisan bill, filed in April, would authorized the Department of Justice (DOJ) “to make grants to states and local governments to reduce the financial and administrative burden of expunging convictions for state cannabis offenses.”
The bill also “requires DOJ to study and report on (1) the effects on an individual of a criminal record report of a conviction for a criminal offense related to cannabis, and (2) the costs incurred for incarcerating an individual for a criminal offense related to cannabis.”
Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act
Sponsors: 5
Filed: January 2024
The Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act was introduced in January in the US House of Representatives by Congressmember Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), with a companion bill filed in the Senate by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). Since being filed three other lawmakers have signed on as cosponsors.
The proposed law would allow the use of marijuana in federally assisted housing, including public housing and Section 8 housing, if the consumer is in compliance with state marijuana laws.
Stop Pot Act
Sponsors: 5
Filed: September 2023
The Stop Pot Act was filed in September by North Carolina Congressmember Chuck Edwards. The measure would withhold 10% of federal highway funds from states and tribes that legalize marijuana
The measure has not received a single new sponsor since October, nor has it received any consideration in its committee of origin, despite being the most prominent anti-marijuana legislation in the US House of Representatives.
Higher Education Marijuana Research Act
Sponsors: 3
Filed: June 2023
The Higher Education Marijuana Research Act would “streamline the process for institutions of higher education to research marijuana”, allowing for increased marijuana research.
The measure was filed by Congressmember Dina Titus (D-NV), along with cosponsors Congressmembers Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Early Blumenauer (D-OR).
GRAM Act
Sponsors: 3
Filed: April 2023
The GRAM Act was filed with Congressmember Brian Mast (R-FL) as the sole sponsor. In May, and then July of last year, the measure gained its 2nd and 3rd sponsor, but has not gained much traction since.
The proposed law would “protect the Second Amendment rights of adults whose use of marijuana is permitted by State or Tribal law.” In other words, it codifies that those following state-level marijuana laws would be authorized to possess firearms.
Randy’s Resolution
Sponsors: 2
Filed: February 2024
Congressmembers Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) earlier this year filed bicameral resolutions urging federal agencies and state and local governments to do more research on the potential dangers of high-THC marijuana.
The resolution states that “It is the sense of Congress that Federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, should conduct and support research on the health effects of high-potency marijuana and its impact on vulnerable populations such as youth.”
It further “urges the Federal, State, and local governments to collaborate with public health organizations, medical professionals, and community stakeholders to developer evidence-based policies that address the public health and safety concerns association with high-potency marijuana.”
Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act
Sponsors: 2
Filed: July 2024
The Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act, one of the newest marijuana-related bills in the US Congress, would create an expungement mechanism for low-level violations of federal marijuana law and provide an expedited, orderly process that clears the deck of non-felony marijuana offenses lingering in the federal system.
HOPE Act
Sponsors: 2
Filed: February 2023 (House) and April 2024 (Senate)
In April 2023, the HOPE Act was introduced in the House of Representatives with bipartisan backing. This year, a Senate companion bill was introduced by Senator Jackie Rosen (D-NV).
The legislation aims to authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide grants to states and local governments to alleviate the financial and administrative burdens of expunging state cannabis offense convictions. Additionally, the Act mandates the DOJ to study and report on the impact of a criminal record for cannabis-related offenses on individuals and the costs associated with incarcerating individuals for such offenses.
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer has committed to incorporating the HOPE Act’s provisions into the SAFER Banking Act before it is brought to the full Senate for consideration.
