On May 1, 2024, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced the Cannabis Administration Opportunity Act (text available here). The reintroduction follows the news last week that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had begun the formal rulemaking process to move marijuana from Schedule I in the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) to Schedule III.
CAOA was initially introduced on July 21, 2022 (text available here). OFW Law published several blogs on this proposed comprehensive reform of federal marijuana regulation. Key elements of the CAOA include:
- New, revised, and lengthy definitions of “cannabis” (as opposed to “marihuana”) and “hemp,” with hemp including limits upon total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, rather than delta-9 THC alone, and expressed in milligrams rather than as a percentage of dry weight.
- Designating the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the primary authority for most cannabis product regulation, and not transferring authority, as has been proposed in other legislation, to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB); the CAOA would, however, give TTB authority over cannabis taxation.
- A framework for the regulation of cannabidiol (CBD) in dietary supplements and as a food additive.
- A 3-year plan for transitioning medical cannabis to FDA-approved drugs.
- A significantly expanded, and more specific, research agenda.
- Provisions for social equity and justice, including programs in and for disadvantaged communities and persons most impacted by the “War on Drugs,” decriminalization, expungement of certain marijuana offenses, and other measures.
Aside from changes around whether persons with past criminal offenses can obtain employment in financial institutions, the 2022 and 2024 versions of the CAOA appear to be the same in all material respects.
It is too early to determine whether the CAOA will gain any momentum in Congress. Moreover, it is now inconsistent with the yet-to-be-published DEA proposed rule to reschedule marijuana. The CAOA would remove marijuana from CSA entirely while DEA is purportedly proposing to keep marijuana as a controlled substance but move it from Schedule I to Schedule III.
If you have any questions and/or if you would like additional information on CAOA and other cannabis legislation, please do not hesitate to contact Tish Pahl (tpahl@ofwlaw.com), Kyla Kaplan (kkaplan@ofwlaw.com), Denise Calle (dcalle@ofwlaw.com), and/or Ben Dash (bdash@ofwlaw.com) for assistance.
