While cannabis reform has always moved at a glacial pace in Washington, D.C., 2025 seems like an extreme example. To date, Congress has introduced almost no standalone legislation related to the issue and efforts to reclassify marijuana have stalled; but the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has seemed more willing to examine the topic. 

Let me be clear, though: your voice matters and you can make it heard easily by using NCIA’s action alerts to contact your member of Congress about medical marijuana protections, 280E, and/or hemp. 

All of that said, with legislators back home in their home states/districts, I thought it would be a perfect time to recap what has (and hasn’t) happened so far in reform this year by looking at each branch of government:

Administrative

At the beginning of the year, Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term as President. President Trump and his administration were, for the most part, inactive on cannabis policy reform during his first term- with the notable exception of his then-Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, rescinding the Cole Memo in early 2018. That said, the President and his current administration seem to be considering making moves on this issue. 

You may recall that the Biden Administration previously initiated the rescheduling process, prompting a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). (You can read more about NCIA’s role in that process here.)

Fast forward to this year: in January some of the pro-rescheduling plaintiffs (not including NCIA) filed an interlocutory appeal and accused the DEA of colluding with prohibitionists (and that their approach was unlawful). The filing of this interlocutory appeal caused an indefinite pause on the proceedings and, for all intents and purposes, ended these historic hearings.

Now, it seems like there may be some new developments. Last week, reports from CNN and the 

Wall Street Journal stated that officials are reexamining cannabis policy and was followed by the President himself saying that his administration is “looking at” a proposal to reschedule marijuana and will “make a determination over the next few weeks.”

This comes after the Senate recently confirmed Terry Cole as the new Administrator of the DEA. NCIA sent a letter to Administrator Cole following his ascension to the office and looks forward to participating in and guiding any efforts to reclassify marijuana under federal law. 

Legislative

In the almost 11 years that I’ve been at NCIA, there’s typically been no shortage of cannabis related bills introduced in Congress- until now. 

The 119th Congress has been disappointingly inactive on cannabis policy this year. To date, only one substantive pro-cannabis bill (STATES 2.0) has been introduced on the topic. 

Unfortunately, efforts to undermine the cannabis industry have also been introduced, such as the H.R. 1447/S. 471, the “No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act”, which seeks to make the unfair 280E tax rule permanent for state-legal cannabis businesses – regardless of how cannabis is scheduled in the Controlled Substances Act. You can take action against this punitive bill by sending a letter to your members of Congress using this tool.

All of that said, Congress has been working on the federal budget (also known as appropriations bills). Both the House and Senate versions of the FY 2026 Commerce–Justice–Science (CJS) appropriations bills include the long-standing rider prohibiting the Department of Justice (DOJ) from spending funds to interfere with state medical cannabis programs, however, the House’s version would place a critical caveat on these protections and proposes that the Justice Department still be able to 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. If passed into law, this language puts hundreds of facilities and patients at risk. Again, please consider reaching out to your Representative via NCIA’s action alert tool on this critical topic.

Judiciary

The SCOTUS hasn’t issued any major merits rulings directly on marijuana this year, but several cannabis-related matters have either been brought before the Court or had petitions filed. In April, “SCOTUS ruled in favor of a trucker who sued a cannabis company after he was fired over a positive THC test that he says was caused by consuming a hemp-derived CBD product”. According to Marijuana Moment, the justices’ decision means he can seek triple damages from the company that made the product under a federal anti-racketeering law (RICO).

The highest court in the land (no pun intended!) may also review another cannabis related case soon. Just days ago, the Trump administration asked SCOTUS to take up a case on the federal government’s ban on users of marijuana and other illegal drugs from owning firearms and uphold the prohibition, basically asking SCOTUS to deny marijuana users their 2nd Amendment rights. 

There’s no doubt: federal reform takes time, effort, and engagement. Policy change cannot and will not happen without your help, so again, please use NCIA’s action alerts to contact your member of Congress about medical marijuana protections, 280E, and/or hemp.