Policy

SAM’S WORK IN CONGRESS, FEDERAL AGENCIES, THE COURTS, AND STATE CAPITOLS

76-24Senate vote to keep the hemp THC ban in lawNovember 2025
6SAM-backed provisions enacted in FY2026 appropriationsPublic Law 119-37 and 119-75
35state attorneys general urged Congress not to delay the hemp THC banAugust 2026
3state attorneys general joined SAM’s court challenge to reschedulingD.C. Circuit, 2026
Policy

Smart Approaches to Marijuana works with members of both parties in Congress, federal agencies, the courts, and state legislatures to advance health-first federal marijuana policy. Our goal is simple: stop the commercialization of addictive drugs before it creates the next Big Tobacco, and put the health of kids and families ahead of industry profits.

Our record

What we’ve won in Congress

Enacted into law, FY2026

  • The hemp THC ban, closing the hemp intoxicant loophole (Section 781), enacted November 2025
  • No taxpayer-funded ads that encourage drug use, in the Transportation-HUD bill
  • A CDC report on cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome in young people
  • A directive for the FDA to act against false health claims about marijuana products
  • Research on the harms of high-potency THC
  • An HHS Inspector General review of the rescheduling process
Passed House Appropriations, FY2027

  • A prohibition on the Justice Department rescheduling marijuana
  • A call for enforcement of the 2025 hemp THC ban
  • A Justice Department inquiry into financial services for marijuana businesses tied to the Chinese Communist Party
  • A bar on workers’ compensation funds paying for marijuana if it moves to Schedule III
  • A directive for the CDC to collect data on youth CHS

Earlier wins

Secured House Appropriations Committee approval of provisions to ban Delta-8 THC, block rescheduling, and enforce Drug Free School Zones laws against dispensaries (FY2025).

Protected the long-standing ban on recreational marijuana sales in Washington, DC, and helped defeat efforts to add SAFE Banking to FY2025 spending legislation.

Helped defeat a 2024 defense bill provision that would have allowed military recruits to test positive for THC, and supported introduction of the No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act.

Testimony, courts, and agencies

Beyond Capitol Hill

Congressional testimony

SAM CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet has testified before the Senate Banking Committee on marijuana banking (2023) and the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health on intoxicating hemp (2023).

DEA rescheduling hearing

SAM participated in the DEA’s 2026 hearing on rescheduling marijuana, presenting testimony and evidence on marijuana’s harms.

Federal courts

SAM is challenging the April 2026 rescheduling order in the D.C. Circuit, joined by the attorneys general of Nebraska, Louisiana, and Indiana, and has appealed a federal program reimbursing hemp THC products.

Your members of Congress need to hear from you.

Tell Congress: no more hemp delaysStop tax breaks for Big MarijuanaContact our government affairs team

Our family of organizations
Smart Approaches to Marijuana logo
Smart Approaches to MarijuanaThe leading voice on marijuana policy and science: THC potency, the hemp loophole, and Big Marijuana.You are here
Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions logo
Foundation for Drug Policy SolutionsEvidence-based solutions for fentanyl, kratom and 7-OH, psychedelics and every other drug.Visit FDPS →
The Drug Report logo
The Drug ReportDaily reporting on marijuana, kratom, fentanyl, psychedelics and the industries behind them, from the SAM and FDPS newsroom.Read the news →