The Senate has given final approval to a spending bill that would continue protecting state medical marijuana programs from federal intervention—while excluding a provision that previously advanced to block the Justice Department from rescheduling cannabis.
About a week after the appropriations legislation was negotiated on a bicameral basis and advanced through the House, the opposite chamber voted 82-15 on Thursday to send it to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Advocates and industry stakeholders were encouraged to see the rescheduling language stripped from the final deal after it had been approved by the House Appropriations Committee last year, as well as the preservation of a longstanding rider preventing DOJ from using its funds to interfere in state medical marijuana laws.
Two GOP senators filed an amendment to add the cannabis rescheduling restrictions back in this week, but it was not considered on the floor.
The bill that’s heading to Trump is part of a package that covers Fiscal Year 2026 spending for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), Interior, Environment and Energy and Water Development.
The move comes weeks after the president issued an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to expeditiously complete the process of moving marijuana from Schedule I
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