U.S. House lawmakers are once again attempting to strip an executive agency of its delegated powers to reschedule or deschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) and Related Agencies approved a spending bill on July 15 that prevents the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using funds to reclassify cannabis from its Schedule I listing, where it sits alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
The 154-page legislation, which now heads to the full committee for consideration, provides nearly $77 billion in discretionary allocations, including $37.3 billion to the DOJ. Of that DOJ allocation, $2.8 billion in direct appropriations would be provided to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for salaries and expenses, according to a subcommittee summary.
While the CJS legislation encompasses law enforcement, economic trade, space exploration and other matters, the summary doesn't mention cannabis. Also, the subcommittee's members did not discuss the cannabis-related provisions during the hour-long markup on the bill, before voting, 9-6, to approve the underlying legislation.
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