Fetterman Joins Colleagues in Reintroducing Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) joined his Senate Democratic colleagues in reintroducing the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, comprehensive legislation that would end the harmful federal prohibition of cannabis by removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and empowering states to create their own laws.

"I've always been very pro-weed. In a very libertarian slant: I'm not going to judge anyone for using it to knock the edge off of life. I think your path to wellness should be without judgement or punishment-legal, safe, and regulated. I supported President Biden and President Trump when they took steps on the issue," said Senator Fetterman. "But it is time for Congress to stop dicking around and make weed legal. This bill is a good step forward."

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would:

Protect public health by:

• Establishing a Center for Cannabis Products to regulate production, labeling, distribution, sales, and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry.
• Instructing the FDA to establish standards for labeling for cannabis products, including potency, doses, servings, place of manufacture, and directions for use.
• Establishing programs and funding to prevent youth cannabis use.
• Increasing funding for comprehensive opioid, stimulant, and substance use disorder treatment.

Protect public safety by:

• Removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and eliminating federal prohibitions in states that have chosen to legalize medical cannabis or adult-use cannabis.
• Retaining federal prohibitions on trafficking cannabis in violation of state law; establishing a grant program to help departments combat black market cannabis.
• Requiring the Department of Transportation (DOT) to create standards for cannabis-impaired driving.
• Directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to collect data on cannabis-impaired driving, create educational materials on best practices, and carry out media campaigns.
• Incentivizing states to adopt cannabis open-container prohibitions.

Regulate and tax cannabis by:

• Transferring federal jurisdiction over cannabis to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
• Eliminating the tax code's restriction on cannabis businesses claiming deductions for business expenses and implementing an excise tax on cannabis products.
• Establishing market competition rules meant to protect independent producers, wholesalers, and retailers and prevent anti-competitive behavior.

Encourage cannabis research by:

• Requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study and report on metrics that may be impacted by cannabis legalization.
• Requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct or support research on the impacts of cannabis.
• Requiring the VA to carry out a series of clinical trials studying the effects of medical cannabis on the health outcomes of veterans diagnosed with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Requiring the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly compile and publicize data on the demographics of business owners and employees in the cannabis industry.
• Establishing grants to build up cannabis research capacity at institutions of higher education, with a particular focus on minority-serving institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Prioritize justice by:

• Using federal tax revenue to fund an Opportunity Trust Fund to reinvest in communities and individuals most harmed by the failed War on Drugs.
• Establishing a Cannabis Justice Office at the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs.
• Establishing a grant program to provide funding to help minimize barriers to cannabis licensing and employment for individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.
• Establishing expedited FDA review of drugs containing cannabis manufactured by small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
• Directing the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a grant program to provide communities whose residents have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs with additional funding to address the housing, economic, and community development needs of such residents.
• Initiating automatic expungement of federal nonviolent cannabis offenses and allowing an individual currently serving time in federal prison for a nonviolent cannabis offense to petition a court for resentencing.
• Disallowing the denial of any benefits or protections under immigration law to any noncitizen based on their use or possession of cannabis.
• Preventing discrimination in the provision of federal benefits against people who use cannabis.

Strengthen workers' rights by:

• Removing unnecessary federal employee pre-employment and random drug testing for cannabis.
• Ensuring worker protections for those employed in the cannabis industry.
• Establishing grants for community-based education, outreach, and enforcement of workers' rights in the cannabis industry.

The reintroduction of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act was co-led by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). In addition to Fetterman, the legislation was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Read the full text of the bill here.

Fetterman's Record on Weed

Legal weed is an issue that Senator Fetterman has championed long before and during his time in our nation's capital.

As Lieutenant Governor, Fetterman held a statewide listening tour on recreational cannabis legalization and co-launched a pardon program for Pennsylvanians convicted of marijuana possession to apply for a pardon. He consistently advocated to end the failed war on drugs, legalize weed, expunge nonviolent weed offense records, and prevent industry monopolization.

In September 2022, Fetterman pressed then-President Joe Biden to decriminalize marijuana during the president's visit to Pittsburgh. One month later, the president pardoned those convicted of simple marijuana possession.

In May 2023, Fetterman used his time during a Senate Banking Committee hearing to grill a witness on marijuana legalization opposition and to show support for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. He emphasized the need to make "[weed] legal. I just believe it's a freedom issue. I've given hundreds of pardons to people who have had their lives ruined by a B.S. charge."

In August 2023, Fetterman celebrated the Department of Health and Human Services' recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, calling the move "a strong step in the right direction on marijuana policy."

In January 2024, Fetterman co-led a letter with Senator Warren to call on the Biden Administration to completely deschedule marijuana. The letter was signed by several of their Senate Democratic colleagues. "The Biden Administration has a window of opportunity to deschedule marijuana that has not existed in decades and should reach the right conclusion - consistent with the clear scientific and public health rationale for removing marijuana from Schedule I, and with the imperative to relieve the burden of current federal marijuana policy on ordinary people and small businesses," wrote the senators.

In April 2024, Fetterman spoke with Fox News Digital highlighting that "it's not complicated" to legalize weed, and that other states, including nearly all states surrounding Pennsylvania, have done that.

In February 2025, Fetterman reiterated his support for legal weed in an interview with AskAPol's Matt Laslo, noting "we're still struggling and dicking around and we should just make legal weed."

In May 2026, Fetterman expressed support of President Trump's move in "liberalizing marijuana and psychedelics" during an interview with Nick Gillespie. He emphasized that he doesn't judge or belittle anybody that partakes to "knock their edge off to just make it through in this world," continuing to say that he thinks "that's important. That's a choice that every American of legal age deserves to have, and to participate in a way that doesn't turn them into a criminal or judge [them] for those things-make it as safe as possible…I think your path for wellness, psychedelics, whatever. I think it all should be legal without judgment and without punishment or a criminal record."

Senator Fetterman will continue pushing for legal weed and safe access for legal adults.