GOP Panel Requests Review of Cannabis Rescheduling by Biden Administration

LOS ANGELES- A Republican-led congressional subcommittee is urging a formal investigation into the Biden administration’s handling of the federal cannabis rescheduling process. The request, made in a report accompanying the fiscal year 2026 funding bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), centers on concerns that the administration deviated from long-established drug evaluation standards.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies directed the HHS Inspector General to assess whether procedural norms were followed in the department’s recommendation to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Specifically, lawmakers are questioning the scientific and regulatory framework used in the 2023 review that informed the Drug Enforcement Administration’s pending decision.

According to the committee report, there is concern that HHS may have replaced the traditional five-factor analysis with a simplified two-factor evaluation, used inappropriate comparator drugs, and relied on statistically inconclusive evidence to support the change. These procedural issues, they argue, warrant further scrutiny to preserve the integrity of federal drug policy.

Additionally, the panel highlighted what it views as a growing public health concern over high-potency cannabis products, particularly among adolescents. Lawmakers are calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prioritize research on potential links between these products and mental health conditions such as addiction, schizophrenia, and psychosis.

The report also addresses the proliferation of cannabis-derived products marketed with unsubstantiated health claims. The panel encouraged FDA enforcement action to ensure compliance with existing food and drug laws, warning that many of these items may present risks to consumer safety.

While critical of the rescheduling process for cannabis, the report simultaneously supports expanded federal research into psychedelic substances such as MDMA and psilocybin. It suggests further interagency collaboration, particularly with the Department of Defense, to explore these drugs’ potential in treating mental health disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder.

The committee’s push for an investigation signals potential delays or complications in the Biden administration’s effort to reform cannabis regulation at the federal level. It underscores the partisan divide on drug policy and the broader debate over public health, regulatory integrity, and scientific standards in emerging substance-use therapies.