The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled Wednesday to consider a Fiscal Year 2027 spending bill for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, along with a report directing federal agencies to act against unregulated intoxicating cannabinoid products.
The report instructs the DEA, working with the FDA Office of Inspections and Investigations, to pursue enforcement against sellers of ingestible, inhalable, and topical cannabinoid products that endanger consumers or fail to meet the statutory definitions under section 10113 of Public Law 115–334 and section 781 of Public Law 119–37. The DEA must also report on enforcement efforts and any resource needs within 90 days of enactment.
Though the provision does not use the word "hemp," it cites statutes governing the crop and appears aimed at products that proliferated after hemp's legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill. Congress has since passed, and President Donald Trump has signed, legislation that will broadly recriminalize hemp THC products beginning in November.
The report also directs the Department of Justice to use anti-money laundering funds to investigate financial schemes tied to Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-connected illegal marijuana operations inside the U.S.
A third provision allocates $8,500,000 to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to operate a wastewater surveillance pilot at no fewer than six federal correctional institutions, monitoring infectious diseases—including Hepatitis C, HIV, tuberculosis, and respiratory pathogens—as well as drug use, including fentanyl, nitazenes, synthetic opioids, methamphetamine, and synthetic cannabinoids. Sites must represent varied security classifications, geographic regions, and population sizes. BOP must submit findings and recommendations no later than 180 days after the pilot's completion.
The underlying legislation also contains a provision to block further federal steps to reschedule cannabis and an updated version of the rider protecting state medical cannabis programs from federal interference, in place since 2014.
Last month, the committee passed a separate bill raising concerns about health risks from cannabis-derived products and supporting psychedelics research. The full House recently passed a Farm Bill with hemp industry provisions but without language to delay the coming hemp THC ban. The House Rules Committee is also considering an amendment this week that would allow veterans to receive medical marijuana recommendations through VA physicians.
