Congress Members Urge Attorney General to Reject Cannabis Rescheduling to Schedule III

Image | adobe.stock/Pierrette Guertin

In late August, multiple members of Congress sent a two-page letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the rejection of cannabis rescheduling (1). “We write to urge you to reject the Biden Administration’s corrupt and flawed recommendation to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug,” the letter begins. “Rescheduling marijuana would send a message to kids that marijuana is not harmful and allow Big Marijuana and foreign drug cartels to get billions per year in federal tax breaks.”

The letter, dated August 28, 2025, references the recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration in 2024 to reschedule cannabis from its current position as a Schedule I substance according to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), to Schedule III.

President Donald Trump is also cc’d on the letter. In August, President Trump had stated the Administration was looking into the reclassification of cannabis and had indicated a decision would be coming within a few weeks (2).

What are the main arguments against cannabis rescheduling?

The main arguments in the letter focus on:

• The CSA system of scheduling. Cannabis has a risk for addiction and has no medical value, the letter states, citing studies on cannabis and associations with psychosis, anxiety, and other conditions, as well as the risks for stroke and heart attack.
• The potential tax breaks for illegal businesses. The letter argues that tax code 280E prevents illegal businesses and drug cartels from collection billions of dollars in tax write offs.
• The risk of harm to children. Rescheduling would send the message that cannabis does not cause harm.

The letter also argued that medical and recreational cannabis are the same due to the lack of distribution in dispensaries by budtenders rather than pharmacies, further stating that smoking cannabis is not medical cannabis, due to the carcinogenic risks. It also cited a study that suggested smoking cannabis could worsen PTSD symptoms among veterans.

It also mentioned the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raid of a state-licensed Southern California cannabis farm in July (3).

What Did the Congresspeople Say?

In an August 28 press release regarding the letter to Attorney General Bondi, Congressman Pete Sessions, the issuer of the letter, stated the reasons for keeping cannabis in its current position (4). “Rescheduling marijuana is bad policy, no matter the administration,” he stated. “The data is clear: marijuana is a dangerous drug that has only become more dangerous over time. That is why I have spent my entire career in Congress opposing the rescheduling of marijuana. We must protect our children from predatory marijuana businesses that want to make them addicted consumers for life.”

Congressman Paul Gosar is also quoted in the press release and signed the letter, though on August 21, 2025, Gosar had also independently published a full op-ed piece on cannabis rescheduling (5). “Rescheduling marijuana – moving it to a lower federal drug schedule – risks undermining President Trump’s determination to address the growing health crisis in America by signaling that it is safe, despite clear evidence of harm,” he stated. “Today’s marijuana products often exceed 15–90% THC, far stronger than in past decades, and higher potency is linked to greater risk of addiction, psychosis, anxiety, and cognitive impairment.”

Nine signatures end the letter, including a signature from Congresswoman Mary Miller. In 2024, Miller had presented an amendment to the Farm Bill that would have changed the definition of hemp to only include naturally occurring and non-intoxicating cannabinoids (6).

One day after the letter to Attorney General Bondi was published, the cannabis reform bill called the MORE Act, was reintroduced to Congress by Congressman Jerrold Nadler along with Cannabis Caucus Co-Chairs, Dina Titus and Ilhan Omar, as well as House Committee on Small Business Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (7). The Act aims to reschedule cannabis and expunge convictions.

References

1. Congressman Pete Sessions. Letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi https://sessions.house.gov/_cache/files/7/b/7beeb164-2110-4c13-aa51-0c0492197a69/1863D148AC9A0301BE40DD60390CA7D04B5816E946BE57072C24DAE317F8FBC7.letter-to-doj-re.-congressional-opposition-to-marijuana-rescheduling.pdf (accessed Sept 8, 2025).
2. McEvoy, E. Trump Administration Examining Possibility of Cannabis Rescheduling https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/trump-administration-examining-possibility-of-cannabis-rescheduling (accessed Sept 8, 2025).
3. Colli, M. Southern California ICE Raids Targeting Cannabis Nurseries Trigger Protests https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/southern-california-ice-raids-targeting-cannabis-nurseries-trigger-protests (accessed Sept 8, 2025).
4. Congressman Pete Sessions. Congressman Sessions Leads Letter Opposing Marijuana Rescheduling https://sessions.house.gov/2025/8/congressman-sessions-leads-letter-opposing-marijuana-rescheduling (accessed Sept 8, 2025).
5. Congressman Paul Gosar. Rescheduling Weed is Bad for Wellness and Bombs Politically https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=9002 (accessed Sept 8, 2025).
6. McEvoy, E. Amendment to 2024 Farm Bill Draft Would Affect Intoxicating Hemp-Derived Products https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/amendment-to-2024-farm-bill-draft-would-affect-intoxicating-hemp-derived-products (accessed Sept 8, 2025).
7. Colli, M. The Reintroduced MORE Act: Is Federal Cannabis Legalization Finally on the Horizon? https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/the-reintroduced-more-act-is-federal-cannabis-legalization-finally-on-the-horizon- (accessed Sept 8, 2025).