Attorney General Pam Bondi has missed a congressionally mandated deadline to issue guidelines for easing barriers to research on Schedule I substances such as marijuana and psychedelics.
Under legislation passed by lawmakers and signed into law by President Donald Trump last year, Bondi was supposed to publish interim rules setting out new processes for Schedule I research registration by January 16—but that has not occurred.
“This failure to act leaves researchers, institutions and regulators without clear guidance and directly contributes to research harm—the preventable damage caused when restrictive or unclear drug policies obstruct legitimate scientific research,” Kat Murti, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), said in a press release on Tuesday. “Research harm delays medical innovation, limits evidence-based policymaking and slows the development of potential treatments for overdose, pain, addiction and mental health conditions.”
“Congress gave the attorney general a clear deadline and a clear mandate: reduce barriers to research while ensuring transparency and public input,” Murti said. “Missing this deadline is not a neutral administrative failure—it actively perpetuates research harm. When scientists are left navigating vague or contradictory rules, lifesaving research is delayed, innovation stalls and public health suffers.”
While drug policy reform advocates have sounded
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