Rescheduling moved medical marijuana down one rung. This bill would take marijuana off the ladder entirely. On October 29, retiring Congressman Steve Cohen introduced the most comprehensive rewrite of the Controlled Substances Act since 1970 — and marijuana descheduling is only one piece of it.
Off the Ladder Entirely
Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus, introduced the Public Health and Research Reforms in Controlled Substances Act on October 29, 2026.
The bill removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act entirely, according to Cohen's office and the bill's section-by-section analysis. Tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs) come off the schedules too, and the change is retroactive — extending to past offenses, pending cases, convictions, and juvenile adjudications.
"Most Americans believe the 'war on drugs' has been a failure at cross purposes with good public policy and aimed largely at minorities with draconian mandatory minimum sentences for minor offenses that most now believe aren't really offenses at all," Cohen said. "This bill would set comprehensive policies on all aspects of drug regulation while also defining the purpose of federal involvement. A thoughtful review of national drug policy is long overdue."
It is Cohen's 500th sponsored piece of legislation since he entered Congress, and it substantially expands his Controlled Substances Act Clarification in Science Act, introduced in June 2026.
How This Differs From Schedule III
The contrast with this week's other cannabis news is the whole story.
In April 2026, the Department of Justice moved state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved marijuana products to Schedule III. That kept cannabis federally controlled — subject to DEA registration, quotas, and the rest of the controlled-substance framework — and left all other cannabis in Schedule I, with a broader rescheduling hearing still unresolved.
Cohen's bill does not move marijuana to a lower schedule. It removes marijuana from the Act, which is what advocates call descheduling — federal legalization, in Marijuana Moment's description, rather than rescheduling.
A New Way to Classify Every Drug
Marijuana is the headline, but the bill rebuilds the scheduling system itself.
The current five schedules mix two judgments into one: how dangerous a drug is, and whether it has medical value. Cohen's dual-axis system separates them. One axis — Schedules I through IV — grades risk of misuse, substance use disorder, and threat to public health. The other — Schedules A through E — grades therapeutic value. A drug could be classified Schedule IA: high risk, and high therapeutic value at the same time.
About 30 substances — including fentanyl, morphine, methamphetamine, psilocybin, and ibogaine — would be the first reevaluated under the new system within two years. None of those would be descheduled; they would be re-tailored, balancing harms against benefits. Regulators would review all remaining controlled substances within eight years.
Sentencing: End Weight-Based Mandatory Minimums
The bill eliminates weight-based mandatory minimum penalties for drug trafficking and replaces them with a simplified framework tied to the new scheduling structure. Enhanced penalties remain for repeat offenders and offenses involving death, serious injury, or violent crime.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission would be directed to revise federal guidelines — once for the removal of mandatory minimums, and again after the first batch of substances is rescheduled. Courts would be authorized to reduce sentences for people whose offenses would now carry lower penalties, and the Bureau of Prisons would have to identify eligible individuals, notify them, and file reduction motions on their behalf. Individuals could also file their own motions. Judges keep discretion in each case.
HHS Runs the Science, the DEA Runs Diversion
Under current law, the Attorney General — acting through the DEA — makes the final scheduling calls, with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) advising. Cohen's bill flips that: the HHS Secretary would make core scheduling decisions, set production quotas, and register scientific researchers, supported by a new 15-to-25-member expert committee that scores scheduling changes.
The DEA would keep registering practitioners who dispense controlled substances, and focus on preventing diversion and illicit trafficking. Research access expands too, through blanket research licenses and expedited registration — aimed at a system where, as supporters put it, the lack of research was used to justify the restrictions blocking the research.
For cannabis specifically, HHS would have to convene at least three public meetings within a year of passage on regulating cannabis products — safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling, and sale. And descheduling would not end every federal touchpoint: HHS could still include marijuana in federal employee drug testing programs.
Who Backs It — and the Odds
The bill is endorsed by the Drug Policy Alliance, NORML, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
"For more than half a century, America's failed drug policies have been built on the shaky and unscientific foundation of the scheduling system defined in the Controlled Substances Act," said Morgan Fox, NORML's political director, calling cannabis's placement in the most restrictive class the clearest example.
Not every supporter calls it perfect. Commentary in Reason, which praised shifting scheduling from law enforcement to health officials, argued the bill still preserves significant prohibition infrastructure — including simple-possession penalties and production quotas — and called for amendments.
The timeline is the hard part. Cohen is retiring at the end of this year, SSDP called this his "500th and final bill," and the measure was introduced on October 29, late in the current Congress, with no committee markup scheduled and no Senate companion identified. As introduced, it is a blueprint the next Congress would have to pick up.
That is also how Cohen's office frames it: the bill comes with a substantial rationale document "drafted to serve as a reference to future Congresses" on the intent behind the reforms.
Sources
1. Congressman Steve Cohen. "Congressman Cohen Introduces Comprehensive Reform of Controlled Substances Act." Press release, U.S. House of Representatives, October 2026 (bill introduced October 29, 2026). — Primary source: six titles revising the 1970 CSA; about 30 substances first for reevaluation (fentanyl, morphine, methamphetamine, psilocybin, ibogaine; none descheduled); builds on June's Clarification in Science Act; 500th sponsored bill; bullets include new dual schedules, authority shifted from Attorney General/DEA to HHS Secretary (scheduling, quotas, researcher registration), blanket research licenses, eliminating mandatory minimums, and "Remove marijuana from the CSA"; Cohen's "war on drugs has been a failure" statement; HHS = science/medicine, DEA = diversion/illicit use; endorsements MAPS, SSDP, Drug Policy Alliance, NORML, with statements from MAPS, SSDP, NORML (Morgan Fox quote), and Eric Sterling. cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-introduces-comprehensive-reform-controlled-substances
2. Cohen, Steve. Public Health and Research Reforms in Controlled Substances Act — bill text and section-by-section analysis, linked from Cohen's House page, 2026. — The descheduling provision removing marijuana and THCs with retroactive effect; Section 114 eliminating weight-based mandatory minimums; Title V / Sections 501–502 on Sentencing Commission revisions, court sentence reductions, and Bureau of Prisons identification/notification (as summarized in source 3's reading of the analysis). cohen.house.gov
3. Beard Bros Pharms. "A New Bill Would Scrap Marijuana From Controlled Substance Act." November 2, 2026. — Original outlet source for this story: introduced October 29; dual-axis system; authority transfer AG → HHS; Section 103 expert committee (15–25 members, multicriteria decision analysis), Section 110 quotas, Sections 107–108 registration split, blanket + 45-day expedited research registration; about 30 substances in 2 years, all others in 8; Schedule III contrast (April order, broader hearing paused, no final decision); sentencing detail; status — no committee markup, no Senate companion. beardbrospharms.com/articles/a-new-bill-would-scrap-marijuana-from-controlled-substance-act/
4. Angell, Tom / Marijuana Moment. "New Bill in Congress Would Dramatically Overhaul How the Federal Government Classifies Drugs While Legalizing Marijuana." October 2026. — Original outlet source: 89-page wholesale rewrite of the Nixon-era CSA; dual-axis I–IV + A–E with the Schedule IA example; descheduling described as federal legalization vs. the administration's incremental Schedule I → III rescheduling; transfer of core authority DOJ/AG/DEA → HHS; eliminates weight-based mandatory minimums with resentencing; HHS to convene not fewer than 3 public meetings on cannabis regulation within a year; HHS may keep marijuana in federal employee drug testing after descheduling; Cohen retiring at end of this year. marijuanamoment.net/new-bill-in-congress-would-dramatically-overhaul-how-the-federal-government-classifies-drugs-while-legalizing-marijuana/
5. Cannabis Business Times. "US Congressman Introduces Bill to Legalize Cannabis, Rewrite Controlled Substances Act." October 2026. — Corroborating coverage: introduced October 29 by a congressman from a prohibitionist state; 89 pages, "nearly every section," most comprehensive CSA reform package since 1970; "align with public health, equal justice and scientific accuracy goals"; Sentencing Commission retroactivity while keeping tools against major traffickers; HHS conducts the analysis and issues the rule. cannabisbusinesstimes.com
6. Reason. "Rep. Steve Cohen Thinks the DEA Shouldn't Be Practicing Medicine." October 29, 2026. — Analysis/commentary (labeled as such in the draft): supports moving scheduling judgments to HHS; dual classifications I–IV + A–E; two-year deadline for named substances, eight years for most others, with fallback classifications; marijuana/THCs off the schedules retroactively (past offenses, pending cases, convictions, juvenile adjudications); repeal of quantity-based 5- and 10-year mandatory minimums; critical note that the bill retains simple-possession penalties and other prohibition infrastructure; Cohen retiring, passage in the lame-duck session unlikely in the author's view. reason.com
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