Democrats won control of both chambers of the US Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, and campaigners say the result could improve the chances of federal cannabis reform, as first reported by Marijuana Moment. NORML also published a response. As of Wednesday morning, two races had yet to be called.

Marijuana Moment reported that Democrats appeared set for a sizeable House majority and a Senate majority of between 54 and 56 seats. The new Congress, the 120th, begins in January.

What Democrats have done before

According to NORML, the Democratic-led House passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act in 2020 and 2022. The bill would remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act. NORML also says the House passed the SAFE Banking Act on seven occasions. It would explicitly allow banks to work with state-licensed cannabis businesses.

The Senate has been harder ground. Its rules let the minority party filibuster any bill that lacks 60 votes. Marijuana Moment said this has applied even to modest reforms with broad bipartisan backing, such as banking access. Any proposal would probably need support from several Republican senators to reach President Donald Trump.

Likely incoming House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have both sponsored bills to remove cannabis from the Act. Marijuana Moment said Republican leaders in both chambers have strongly opposed reform.

Rescheduling and the administration

Marijuana Moment and NORML both said Attorney General Todd Blanche issued an order earlier this year moving state-licensed medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. Efforts to move all botanical cannabis to Schedule III continue, and a Drug Enforcement Administration hearing is under way. NORML said the administration has yet to give clear guidance.

NORML’s political director, Morgan Fox, said the outcome of rescheduling remained “still uncertain” and that Schedule III’s practical effects for consumers were “relatively limited”. He said: “The fate of federal marijuana policy should not be left in the hands of bureaucrats and judges.”

Cat Packer, of the Drug Policy Alliance, told Marijuana Moment that rescheduling alone “is not enough”. She criticised what she called a limited and exclusionary approach, and urged Congress to end federal criminalisation of personal cannabis activity.

Why it matters in the UK

US federal policy influences the global debate on cannabis law. In the UK, cannabis remains a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, although specialists have been able to prescribe cannabis-based medicines since 1 November 2018.

Neither group has said which bills Democrats will prioritise. NORML listed possible measures including descheduling, banking access, veterans’ access to medical cannabis, and ending housing and employment discrimination against consumers.