16 Cannabis Bills in Congress: Inside the MORE Act's Historic 62-Sponsor Push
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The 2025-2026 session of Congress has quietly become the most active cannabis reform period in U.S. legislative history. Sixteen separate cannabis-related bills are now filed across the House and Senate, spanning everything from full federal descheduling to banking protections, housing rights, and stock exchange listings. At the center of it all sits the MORE Act — the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act — which has attracted a record 62 co-sponsors from 28 states and the District of Columbia, making it the most widely supported cannabis reform bill ever introduced in a single congressional session.
For an industry that has spent the better part of a decade waiting for Washington to act, this legislative surge represents a potentially transformational moment. But momentum on paper doesn't always translate to votes on the floor.
Key Takeaways
- The 2025-2026 Congress has 16 active cannabis-related bills, the most in any single session
- The MORE Act has attracted a record 62 co-sponsors from 28 states and D.C.
- Key legislation includes banking reform (SAFER Act), stock exchange access (CLIMB Act), and tax relief
Table of Contents
- The MORE Act: A Landmark in Congressional Support
- Beyond the MORE Act: 15 Other Cannabis Bills in Play
- The Rescheduling Wildcard
- What This Means for the Cannabis Industry
- The Road Ahead
The MORE Act: A Landmark in Congressional Support
The MORE Act, reintroduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would fully remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively ending federal prohibition nationwide. The bill goes beyond simple legalization: it establishes automatic expungement for certain federal marijuana offenses, creates a new federal excise tax on cannabis products, and directs revenue toward community reinvestment programs and small business grants in communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs.
With 62 sponsors now signed on — representatives from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and D.C. — the bill has bipartisan geographic breadth that previous cannabis proposals have lacked. Support stretches from deep-blue urban districts to purple suburban seats and even a handful of historically conservative delegations.
The sponsor count matters beyond symbolism. Sixty-two co-sponsors suggests a floor vote, if one were held, could generate legitimate debate rather than a pro-forma rejection. However, the bill still faces steep odds in a Republican-controlled chamber where leadership has shown little enthusiasm for scheduling a vote.
Beyond the MORE Act: 15 Other Cannabis Bills in Play
While the MORE Act draws the most attention, the remaining 15 bills address specific pain points that have hamstrung the cannabis industry for years.
The SAFER Banking Act remains one of the most closely watched proposals. It would allow banks and credit unions to provide financial services to state-legal cannabis businesses without fear of federal enforcement action. The cannabis industry's reliance on cash-only operations has created safety risks for employees, complicated tax payments, and limited access to traditional business lending.
The SAFER Banking Act has passed the House in previous sessions with bipartisan support, only to stall in the Senate.
The CLIMB Act would allow cannabis companies to list on major U.S. stock exchanges like the NYSE and Nasdaq, a change that could unlock billions in institutional investment capital. Currently, most publicly traded cannabis companies are relegated to Canadian exchanges or over-the-counter markets in the United States, limiting their access to mainstream investors.
Other bills in the session address cannabis-related housing discrimination, veteran access to medical cannabis through the VA, protections for federal employees in legal states, and amendments to the federal tax code that would eliminate the punitive Section 280E [Quick Definition: IRS code barring cannabis businesses from deducting normal expenses like rent and payroll] provision — which currently prevents cannabis businesses from deducting standard operating expenses.
The Rescheduling Wildcard
All of this legislative activity plays out against the backdrop of President Trump's December 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to begin reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III [Quick Definition: A mid-level federal drug classification including ketamine and testosterone] under the Controlled Substances Act. If rescheduling proceeds, it would represent the most significant federal policy shift on cannabis in decades — eliminating the 280E tax penalty and formally recognizing marijuana's medical use under federal law.
However, the Congressional Research Service recently tempered expectations, removing language from an earlier report that had characterized rescheduling as "likely." The regulatory process involves the DEA, HHS, and potentially lengthy public comment periods, meaning full implementation could stretch well into 2027 or beyond.
For advocates who support full descheduling — removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act entirely rather than simply moving it to a lower schedule — rescheduling to Schedule III represents an incomplete solution. Schedule III classification would still leave cannabis under the jurisdiction of the DEA and create a complex regulatory framework that may not align with the commercial cannabis markets already operating in 24 adult-use states.
What This Means for the Cannabis Industry
The practical impact of having 16 active cannabis bills depends entirely on whether any of them move through committee and reach the floor for a vote. In a deeply polarized Congress, cannabis reform has historically been one of the few areas where bipartisan coalitions are possible — but that potential has yet to translate into signed legislation.
For cannabis businesses, the implications are significant. Banking reform alone would fundamentally change how dispensaries, cultivators, and processors operate day-to-day. Stock exchange access could reshape the industry's capital structure overnight.
And federal descheduling would eliminate the legal contradictions that have forced state-legal businesses to operate in a gray zone for over a decade.
Industry analysts note that the sheer volume of cannabis legislation in this session reflects a broader normalization trend. With 24 states permitting adult-use sales and 38 allowing some form of medical cannabis, Congress is increasingly out of step with state-level policy and public opinion, where support for legalization consistently polls above 65%.
The Road Ahead
The 2025-2026 session has roughly 20 months remaining, and midterm election dynamics in 2026 could either accelerate or freeze legislative action. Members of Congress in competitive districts may see cannabis reform as a winning issue with moderate voters, particularly on banking and expungement. Conversely, some legislators may prefer to avoid the topic entirely rather than risk alienating conservative donors or law enforcement constituencies.
What is clear is that the volume and variety of cannabis bills in this session marks a departure from previous years, when reform efforts were typically limited to one or two omnibus proposals. The diversification into targeted legislation — banking, housing, taxation, stock exchanges, veteran access — reflects a maturing political strategy that addresses specific stakeholder concerns rather than relying on a single sweeping reform package.
Whether any of these 16 bills crosses the finish line remains an open question. But the 62-sponsor milestone on the MORE Act sends an unmistakable signal: federal cannabis reform is no longer a fringe issue in American politics.
Pull-Quote Suggestions:
"Support stretches from deep-blue urban districts to purple suburban seats and even a handful of historically conservative delegations."
"For an industry that has spent the better part of a decade waiting for Washington to act, this legislative surge represents a potentially transformational moment."
"The SAFER Banking Act remains one of the most closely watched proposals."
Why It Matters: All 16 cannabis bills in the 2025-2026 Congress session explained — from the MORE Act's record 62 sponsors to banking reform. See what's moving.