A key committee in the US House of Representatives has given approval to a spending bill that includes a provision to prevent the rescheduling of marijuana.

The House Appropriations Committee gave approval today to the 2025 appropriations bill for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. The proposal includes language that would block the Justice Department from reallocating funds to reschedule or remove marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. This would put a halt to the DEA’s proposal to reschedule marijuana, which is currently undergoing a legally required 60-day public comment period, with over 28,000 comments already submitted.

Specially, SEC. 623 of the bill states that “None of the funds appropriated or other wise made available by this Act may be used to reschedule marijuana (as such term is defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) or to remove marijuana from the schedules established under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).”
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According to an official with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the agency’s proposal to reschedule marijuana is still on track to be finalized by October, most likely in September.

On May 21, the DEA published its proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III in the Federal Register, launching a legally mandated 60-day public comment period. Once this period ends on July 22, the DEA will analyze the comments and determine a final ruling, which will also be published in the Federal Register—a process that can take weeks or months.

On May 29, an official at the DEA told us that the agency aims to complete the review of comments “within 60 days” at the direction of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s office, with a final decision coming soon after. The official says it’s possible the review could be completed even quicker, with a finalized ruling coming “by the end of September, but as soon as the end of August.”

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There are now just 13 days left in the 60-day public comment period for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) proposal to reschedule marijuana.

On May 21, the DEA published its marijuana rescheduling plans in the Federal Register, initiating a legally required 60-day public comment period. As of July 9, with 13 days remaining, 28,000 comments have been submitted.

Approximately 70% of these comments urge the DEA to go even further, advocating for full descheduling, decriminalization, or legalization of marijuana. Descheduling would decriminalize the plant nationwide by removing it entirely from the federal Controlled Substances Act.
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In the United States House of Representatives, legislation that would fully deschedule marijuana and allow expungement of marijuana convictions has gained its 93rd sponsor.

Yesterday, Congressmember Greg Landsman (D-OH) officially became a sponsor of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, first introduced in April 2023. This addition brings the total number of sponsors to 93, making the SAFE Banking Act the only marijuana-related bill in Congress with more sponsors (124).

The MORE Act aims to deschedule marijuana, effectively decriminalizing it on a national level. It proposes a federal excise tax of 5% on legal marijuana sales for the first two years, increasing to 8% by the fifth year. Additionally, the bill provides for the expungement of past marijuana convictions and safeguards against public benefit denials for marijuana users.
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UFCW Local 555 has delivered over 163,000 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State for verification of Petition 35, about 46,000 more than required to qualify for the November ballot.

(Photo credit: Brian Breneman).oregon

Once verified, this first-of-its-kind initiative is expected to appear on the statewide 2024 general election ballot this November.

“Simply put, the ballot measure will require any cannabis dispensary or processor to enter into a labor peace agreement affirming the right of their workers to form a union if they so choose”, says Miles Eshaia, Communications Coordinator, UFCW Local 555. “When Oregon first legalized cannabis, it did not build in worker protections that other states, such as California, New York, and New Jersey did. Because of vague federal laws, some employers have refused to acknowledge workers’ rights. This measure makes such acknowledgement part of the licensure process.”
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New Economic Frontier, a political committee promoting an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana, has submitted nearly 50% more signatures than required to place the proposal on the November 5 presidential election ballot.

Today, New Economic Frontier submitted over 22,000 signatures for their initiative, far more than the 15,582 required to put the measure to a vote of the people. The initiative will officially be placed on the ballot and given a ballot title once the signatures are verified, a process expected to take a couple of weeks. The state will discard any duplicate signatures or those from unregistered voters in North Dakota.

The proposed initiative would legalize possession for adults 21 and older, allowing up to one ounce of marijuana, four grams of marijuana concentrates, and 1500 milligrams of adult-use cannabinoid products, including 300 milligrams in edible form. It would also permit the personal cultivation of up to three marijuana plants and the purchase of marijuana and marijuana products via licensed retail outlets. Retail outlets would be supplied by licensed growers and processors, and products would be tested by licensed testing labs.
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The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) has issued 188 provisional dual-use licenses for medical marijuana companies seeking to serve the recreational marijuana market.

On June 7, the DCC opened the application process for existing medical marijuana companies that wish to service the newly legal recreational marijuana market. As of today, the DCC has issued 188 provisional licenses, including 110 to dispensaries, 39 to processors, 22 to level 1 cultivators, 11 to level II cultivators, and six to testing labs. Finalized licenses are expected to be issued any day now, allowing dispensaries to begin selling to anyone 21 and older, regardless of whether they are a medical marijuana patient.

Recreational marijuana possession and cultivation became legal in December after voters approved Issue 2 in November. Under this new law, individuals 21 and older can legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates, such as wax, oil, and hash. They are also allowed to cultivate up to six marijuana plants at a private residence for personal use.
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According to a newly released analysis, if marijuana is legalized in Pennsylvania it will create over 30,000 new jobs, with the total market generating over $2 billion in annual sales.

Titled Estimating the Economic Impacts of an Adult Use Cannabis Market in Pennsylvania, the report was conducted by FTI Consulting.

For the report, FTI “projected adult use sales under three scenarios based on historical relationships between retail medical and adult use sales in other states.” The base case ($2.1 billion adult use market), low case ($1.7 billion), and high case ($2.8 billion). The analysis shows that the adult use cannabis market in Pennsylvania would support between 26,250 and 44,500 jobs within the first full year of a legal
adult use market, with the base case adult use market supporting an estimated 33,350 jobs in the state.
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