Trump’s Budget Request Is Only That

While the budget request illustrates the Trump administration’s spending policies and priorities, Congress has the constitutional responsibility and authority for appropriations legislation. The congressional budget has included the language every year since 2014, despite attempts by both Democratic and Republican administrations to drop the provision.

“Today, more than half the country, including 36 states and Washington, D.C., have embraced medical marijuana, and for the past 10 years, the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment has prevented the Department of Justice from using federal funds to stop states from implementing their medical marijuana programs,” Laura A. Bianchi, co-founding partner of the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Bianchi and Brandt, writes in an email. “Rolling back these protections would mark a significant setback for marijuana reform. Ultimately, Congress will have the final say, and the industry remains hopeful that they will uphold these vital safeguards.”

When Trump signed previous appropriations bill including the protections for medical cannabis operators after requesting they be removed, his administration issued a statement that it “will treat this provision consistent with the President’s constitutional responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.” The statement, which was issued on three separate occasions, was widely interpreted to suggest that the Trump administration might ignore the budget restriction.

Trump’s Mixed Signals On Cannabis Policy

The omission of the protections for state-legal medical cannabis programs in the Trump administration’s 2026 budget request is likely to disappoint supporters of cannabis policy reform who were encouraged by the president’s apparent support for decriminalizing marijuana during the 2024 election campaign. In September, Trump suggested he supported reclassifying marijuana under federal drug laws and that he would back state efforts to legalize recreational cannabis.

“As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to a report from Marijuana Moment.