Federal Legalization
Two bills in Congress would end federal marijuana prohibition entirely and open the door to a national commercial marijuana industry, the next Big Tobacco. SAM opposes both.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) would both remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, a step called descheduling. That goes far beyond rescheduling. It would clear the way for a national commercial industry selling high-potency THC.
The two bills, side by side
| HouseThe MORE Act | SenateThe CAOA | |
| Bill | H.R. 5068 | Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act |
| What it does | Decriminalizes and deschedules marijuana at the federal level, expunges past federal marijuana convictions, and imposes a federal tax on marijuana sales to fund its programs. | Deschedules marijuana, lets states set their own marijuana laws, and creates a federal regulatory structure for a commercial marijuana market. |
| Lead sponsors | Rep. Jerry Nadler | Sens. Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, and Ron Wyden |
| Introduced | August 29, 2025 | July 16, 2026, with 15 original cosponsors |
| History | Passed the House 220-204 in April 2022 and once before in 2020; never taken up by the Senate | Third introduction since 2022; earlier versions never advanced past committee |
| Bottom line | Ends federal prohibition and builds a taxed national market | Ends federal prohibition and builds a regulated national market |
Federal legalization means national commercialization
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It builds the next Big Tobacco.
Descheduling would let a for-profit industry market addictive, high-potency THC nationwide. Big Tobacco, Big Alcohol, and Big Pharma have already invested billions in marijuana companies. Follow the money.
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Today’s marijuana is a different drug.
THC levels have climbed from low single digits a generation ago to 20 percent or more in legal markets, and concentrates can exceed 90 percent. High-potency use is linked to psychosis, depression, and addiction.
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Legalization raises youth harm.
Marijuana use disorder among 12- to 17-year-olds rose 25 percent in states after recreational legalization.
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It makes addiction a business model.
19.3 million Americans already meet clinical criteria for marijuana addiction. A national commercial market profits most from the heaviest users.
Legalization is not about ending arrests. It is about building an industry.
What legalization has already changed
Legalization means commercialization: more potent products, more stores, more advertising, more daily use. The data from legal states and Canada show what federal legalization would bring nationwide.
Increase in past-month marijuana use among youth (12 to 17) and young adults (18 to 25) associated with recreational legalization.
Pawar et al., Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2024
Share of new schizophrenia cases in Ontario attributable to marijuana addiction, before and after Canada legalized. Among men 19 to 24, it reached 18.9 percent.
Myran et al., JAMA Network Open, 2025
Prevalence of psychotic disorders among California teens in areas that ban marijuana storefronts and delivery, compared with teens living within five minutes of a store.
USC and Kaiser Permanente, Substance Use and Misuse, 2025
Americans used marijuana daily or near-daily in 2025, more than smoke cigarettes daily (19.9 million) or drink alcohol daily (17.2 million).
SAMHSA, 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Neither criminalize nor commercialize
SAM opposes incarceration for marijuana use and supports prevention, treatment, and recovery. You don’t need a national commercial marijuana industry to stop locking people up. Congress should reject descheduling and instead invest in prevention, fund treatment, and hold the industry accountable.
Federal marijuana legalization: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between rescheduling and descheduling?
Rescheduling moves marijuana to a less restrictive schedule of the Controlled Substances Act, such as Schedule III. Descheduling, which the MORE Act and CAOA would do, removes it from the Act entirely, ending federal prohibition.
Is the MORE Act likely to pass?
The MORE Act passed the House in 2020 and 2022 but never received a Senate vote. It has been reintroduced in the current Congress, and the industry continues to push it.
Does SAM want people arrested for using marijuana?
No. SAM opposes incarceration for use and supports prevention and treatment. What SAM opposes is a commercial industry selling high-potency THC.
Sources
- H.R. 5068, MORE Act, 119th Congress (Congress.gov)
- Sen. Booker press release on CAOA reintroduction, July 16, 2026
- SAMHSA, 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, detailed tables.
- Cerdá M, et al. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020. Recreational marijuana legalization and cannabis use disorder.
- Pawar AB, et al. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2024;63(11).
- Myran DT, et al. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(2):e2457868.
- USC and Kaiser Permanente. Substance Use and Misuse. 2025.
- SAM: Marijuana and Mental Health, full source list
Congress should reject federal legalization and put public health ahead of industry profits.
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