The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a spending bill that contains a provision to continue blocking Washington, D.C. from legalizing recreational marijuana sales while also warning local officials about approving cannabis dispensaries near schools.
The appropriations legislation covering Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) as well as National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2026, was approved on the floor in a vote of 341-79 on Wednesday.
A report attached to the legislation also contains a section directing federal officials to submit a report on Chinese-linked drug syndicates that operate illicit cannabis grows.
The District has long been barred from allowing regulated adult-use marijuana sales under a spending bill rider led by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), despite voters approving legalization of possession and personal cultivation in 2014.
Leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees who negotiated the legislation ahead of its release on Sunday evidently didn’t see reason to shift away from that policy.
Here’s the text of the D.C. sales rider:
“SEC. 809. (a) None of the Federal funds contained in this Act may be used to enact or carry out any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties
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