Cohen bill would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act entirely

Representative Steve Cohen (Tennessee, 9th district) has introduced the Public Health and Research Reforms in Controlled Substances Act, according to a stupidDOPE article by Mason Cash dated 30 October 2026. The article says the bill removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) "entirely", rather than moving it to a lower schedule. It reports that the bill revises nearly every section of the 1970 law across six titles. The article gives no bill number, cosponsors, committee referral or introduction date.

Other provisions reported

• Weight-based mandatory minimum drug penalties would be eliminated. The U.S. Sentencing Commission would be directed to revise its guidelines and provide for retroactivity.
• Scheduling, production quotas and researcher registration would move from the Attorney General and DEA to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. DEA would focus on diversion and illicit use.
• Blanket research licences would be created, and new, more granular schedules would be introduced.
• About 30 substances, including fentanyl, morphine, methamphetamine, psilocybin and ibogaine, would be reviewed first. The article says the bill deschedules nothing other than marijuana.

The Drug Policy Alliance, NORML, MAPS and Students for Sensible Drug Policy are reported to have endorsed it. The article says comprehensive bills "face long odds" and reports a former House Judiciary counsel urging "the next Congress" to act. It gives no effective date.

What this means

Our analysis: the bill is a marker, and the 28 April 2026 partial rescheduling remains the only operative change, covering part of the market.

1. Current federal position is narrower. The DOJ Final Rule (91 FR 22714, AG Order 6754-2026) moved only FDA-approved products and marijuana under a state medical marijuana licence to Schedule III. Adult-use, unlicensed and bulk marijuana stays in Schedule I. The broader DEA hearing (29 June–15 July 2026) was stayed on 29 September over a GAO report, with responses due 13 October. As of early October there was no recommended decision. A consolidated D.C. Circuit challenge to the rule is pending, with no decision date known.
2. Tax. Section 280E reaches only Schedule I and II substances (26 U.S.C. § 280E, as quoted by Treasury). Adult-use operators remain within it, and Treasury's promised guidance on apportioning medical and adult-use expenses had not been reported as issued. This suggests that removal from the schedules would matter for adult-use operators, but only if the bill's text achieves that. New York already excludes disallowed § 280E amounts from state entire net income for adult-use cannabis (Tax Law § 208(9)(a)(23)).
3. Commerce and banking are unaddressed in the article. 21 U.S.C. § 841 still bars interstate transport. FinCEN's 2014 guidance has not been updated. New York Cannabis Law § 125(10) bars licensees from importing or exporting until federal law allows it.
4. Sentencing is where it would reach existing convictions. Under § 841(b), 100–999 kg or plants carries 5–40 years, and 1,000 or more carries 10 years to life. The Final Rule left these unchanged, and a reported CRS analysis noted this. The retroactivity direction is the part of the bill aimed at people already sentenced.
5. Research. DEA registration under 21 U.S.C. § 823(f) and 21 CFR § 1301.18 still applies to Schedule I marijuana research. DEA bulk-manufacturer applications are open for comment until 4 January 2027. Our analysis: a move of registration to HHS would change that route.

Dates to watch, all reported expectations rather than outcomes: final arguments in the DEA hearing (5 November 2026) and a DEA comment close on docket notice 2026-21367 (19 November 2026).

This is information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

Limits

• The bill text, number, cosponsors and any regulatory framework after removal (FDA, ATF, TTB, state preemption, hemp) have not been identified.
• No implementing guidance from the IRS or FinCEN has been reported.

Sources

• stupidDOPE, "Steve Cohen's 500th Bill Would Take Marijuana Out of the Controlled Substances Act Entirely" (30 October 2026)
• DOJ Final Rule 2026-08176, 91 FR 22714
• DEA stay and briefing order
• Treasury press release SB0471
• 21 U.S.C. § 841
• FinCEN FIN-2014-G001
• N.Y. Cannabis Law § 125 and N.Y. Tax Law § 208