A Tennessee Democrat wants to skip Schedule III and take marijuana off the schedules entirely

Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat, has introduced the Public Health and Research Reforms in Controlled Substances Act of 2026. His office calls it the most comprehensive overhaul of the Controlled Substances Act since 1970. For cannabis, the headline is that marijuana and THC would come off the federal schedules altogether, retroactively covering past offenses, pending cases and convictions, with resentencing available to some people already serving time.

The bill goes well beyond weed. It would replace the five-schedule system with numeric ratings for misuse potential and lettered ratings for therapeutic value, expand the factors used in scheduling decisions from eight to 15, and create an independent expert advisory committee. HHS would take over primary scheduling authority, while the DEA would keep diversion and enforcement duties. Federal mandatory minimums for drug offenses would be eliminated, and FDA would keep oversight of marijuana products, including at least three public meetings on safety, labeling, marketing and sales. Federal employee testing could continue.

Rep. Dina Titus, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, has endorsed the bill, and groups including NORML and the Drug Policy Alliance back it. Nothing in the coverage suggests a path to a vote, and a minority-party bill this broad is a long shot.

The practical value is as a marker. With the administration pursuing Schedule III for medical use and a DEA hearing on adult-use still unresolved, Cohen's bill stakes out the full-descheduling position, which is a different end state from rescheduling. Operators should treat it as a negotiating reference point, not something to plan around.