Congress Drops Plan to Block Trump’s Marijuana Rescheduling Move

President Donald Trump quietly signed an executive order in mid-December that forces the DEA to begin the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III by March 31, 2025, and cannabis industry leaders just scored a massive victory most Americans still don’t know about.

On January 5, both the House and Senate Appropriations committees released the final fiscal year 2026 spending package, and the dangerous rider that would have stripped the Justice Department of authority to reschedule marijuana was gone. Completely removed. Industry insiders breathed a collective sigh of relief loud enough to be heard from California to Maine.

Why This Quiet Budget Win Changes Everything

The threat was real. In September, House Republicans attached language to the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill that would have forbidden the DOJ from using any federal funds to change marijuana’s legal status in 2025. If that rider had survived, Trump’s executive order would have been dead on arrival.

But when the final 1,547-page bicameral agreement dropped Sunday night, the anti-rescheduling provision had vanished without a trace. No explanation, no press release, just gone.

That single deletion is now the biggest green light the cannabis industry has received from Congress in decades.

What Trump Actually Ordered in December

On December 18, Trump signed Executive Order 14152, titled “Modernizing Outdated Drug Scheduling to Reflect Scientific Reality.” The order does three things:

• Directs the Attorney General and DEA to initiate formal rulemaking to move cannabis to Schedule III within 90 days
• Requires HHS to publish the final scientific and medical evaluation by February 28, 2025
• Orders the Office of Management and Budget to fast-track all required reviews

The White House fact sheet called current scheduling “indefensible” and cited the FDA’s own findings that cannabis has accepted medical use and lower abuse potential than Schedule I or II drugs.

The Industry Held Its Breath for Months

Cannabis Business Times readers made this their most-read story in January for good reason. Every major trade group, from the U.S. Cannabis Council to the National Cannabis Industry Association, had been sounding the alarm since September.

They knew a government shutdown fight was coming in December, and hardline Republicans were willing to tank federal funding if it meant keeping marijuana illegal at the federal level.

One industry CEO told CBT anonymously in November: “If that rider passes, we’re looking at another four years of total paralysis. Billions in investment frozen. States left twisting in the wind.”

How the Rider Died in the Dark

Sources on Capitol Hill say the turning point came in late December when Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and ranking member Susan Collins (R-ME) refused to move forward with any CJS bill containing the marijuana poison pill.

Moderate Republicans, facing pressure from governors in their own states who are drowning in black-market competition, quietly told House leadership they would not vote for a year-long spending bill with the rider attached.

By New Year’s Day, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) dropped the provision to avoid a shutdown and keep the government open through September 2025.

What Happens Next: The Real Timeline

Here’s what the schedule now looks like:

• February 28, 2025 – HHS must publish final findings
• March 31, 2025 – DEA must publish proposed rule in Federal Register
• 90-day public comment period begins (ends ~July 1)
• Final rule expected by late 2025 or early 2026

Once the rule is final, every federally regulated bank can legally work with state-licensed cannabis companies without fear of federal punishment. Taxes drop from crushing 70% effective rates to normal corporate rates. Research explodes.

This isn’t legalization, but it’s the biggest practical step toward legitimacy since 1937.

The cannabis industry just dodged a bullet most voters never even saw coming, and Congress just handed Donald Trump the one drug-policy win both sides of the aisle might actually celebrate.