GOP Congressman Isn’t Sure Marijuana Rescheduling Is A DOJ ‘Priority,’ But Remains Optimistic About Progress Under Trump

Marijuana rescheduling is the dish stuck under the heat lamp—cooling while the kitchen argues over the check. That’s the vibe in Washington right now: a lot of hungry diners, a flurry of waitstaff promises, and a chef (the Justice Department) who keeps stepping out for a smoke. Rep. Dave Joyce, a Republican from Ohio who co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, says the timing has to be just right. He’s not wrong. In this town, timing is everything. The White House put its name on an executive order to nudge marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, and Joyce sounds ready to plate the moment the window opens. But between the order and the entrée lies a maze of kitchen doors—legal reviews, agency prerogatives, and the quiet bureaucratic art of running out the clock.

Here’s the sober read in a haze of hopeful headlines: DOJ’s line, until recently, amounted to “no comment.” Then an official signaled they’re hunting for the “most expeditious” way to carry out the president’s directive. Translation: even the cooks are still looking for the recipe. That uncertainty matters. Schedule III could take the handcuffs off a big slice of the industry’s books by weakening the stranglehold of federal tax code 280E, a cash bleed that turns profits into mirages. For a deeper dive into that fight—and whether 280E is even constitutional—see Congressional Researchers Analyze Whether Denying Marijuana Business Tax Deductions Under 280E Is Unconstitutional. In the meantime, the White House touts progress while DOJ keeps its head down, and advocates count the seconds until Attorney General Pam Bondi lands in front of a House committee and someone finally asks the only question that matters: When?

Signals keep crossing like power lines in a windstorm. A former would-be attorney general says DEA is drafting a rescheduling rule “ASAP.” But there’s already a rule parked at DOJ waiting for a green light; inventing a new one might just reset the clock and invite another round of public comments and agency sparring. On the Hill, two senators tried to jam the brakes with an amendment to block rescheduling, but it never made it to the floor. Meanwhile, DEA says the appeals process on rescheduling remains pending, and legal analysts note DOJ could slow-walk the whole thing by restarting a scientific review from scratch. Add Bondi’s missed deadline for issuing rules that would make Schedule I research easier, and you’ve got the kind of federal cannabis policy limbo that makes entrepreneurs check their burn rate twice a week. The cannabis industry impact isn’t abstract; it’s payrolls, leases, and supply chains twisting in a drafty corridor of federal indecision.

Joyce, to his credit, keeps his eyes on the lane. He’s cheering the parallel push on psychedelics where veterans and active-duty service members stand to benefit. That’s not culture-war catnip; it’s pragmatic triage. States are already sketching the blueprint. Look at Alaska, where a government task force recommended legalizing psychedelic therapy once the FDA gives the nod—an incremental, clinical bridge between prohibition and practice. It’s all there in Alaska Government Task Force Recommends Legalizing Psychedelic Therapy Upon FDA Approval. And while clinicians move carefully, researchers and technologists are busy stress-testing the mind itself; even AI models are producing “convincingly realistic” psychedelic experiences when virtually dosed—a bizarre and fascinating twist you can explore in AI Models Like ChatGPT Can Generate ‘Convincingly Realistic’ Psychedelic Experiences When Virtually Dosed, Study Shows. Psychedelics policy reform may actually lap cannabis on the federal track, not because it’s easy, but because its medical guardrails are so tight they feel familiar to regulators.

States underline the lesson feds keep dodging: details decide who wins and who gets left in the alley. Virginia, for instance, is grinding through the mechanics of legalization—and whether to bake new penalties into the batter. That fight is raw and real, with advocates urging lawmakers to strip out the punitive leftovers from the drug war. The stakes are spelled out in Virginia Senators Should Remove New Marijuana Penalties From Bill To Legalize Sales, Advocacy Groups Say. The federal rescheduling push is no different: change the schedule and you change the ledger, the lab, the courtroom, and the street. Maybe DOJ is juggling a dozen crises. Maybe the timing isn’t perfect. But perfection is for poets; policy is for people who can’t afford to wait. When the lights finally come up on Schedule III, the question won’t be whether it was tidy. It’ll be who made it to the other side intact—and who never stood a chance. Until then, keep your compass steady and your options open—and when you’re ready to explore what’s next, visit our shop at https://thcaorder.com/shop/.