Democratic congressional lawmakers have announced the filing of a bill that would remove a restriction that’s prevented the White House drug czar from advocating for the legalization of marijuana or other Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

At a Last Prisoner Project (LPP) event outside the Capitol on Tuesday, Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN)—co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—talked about the group’s legislative priorities for marijuana reform. Beyond the new bill, that will also include bipartisan legislation to end federal prohibition in legal states and free up the industry to access banking services.

The lawmakers’ “Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act” would take aim at a federal statute prohibiting the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from promoting reform around Schedule I drugs.

The current law states that no funds provided to ONDCP can be used for “any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I,” further requiring the office’s director to “take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form)” that is in Schedule I and has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Under the two-page bill, that statutory language included in section 704(b)(12) of the ONDCP Reauthorization Act would be repealed.

Titus said on Tuesday that the legislation would “remove outdated restrictions, which are just ludicrous.”

“They’re not allowed to sponsor any research on Schedule I drugs. They can’t even talk about it, to show you how ridiculous is,” she said. “And by law, they have to actively oppose the legalization of any substance that is Schedule I and not approved by the FDA. We’re trying to remove that prohibition.”

Marijuana legalization “is not some out-of-nowhere kind of issue. This is something that is truly mainstream,” Titus said. “So if we can get rid of that policy, we can begin to do research on some of the advantages, or how marijuana can be used and what are the medical implications so when they say, ‘Oh, we don’t know—we don’t know what it’ll do, it might be dangerous’—you can counter that with good research.”

Whether the Trump administration’s recently appointed drug czar would exercise the authority to advocate for reform under the bill if enacted is uncertain. However, ONDCP Director Sara Carter has previously called medical marijuana a “fantastic” treatment option for seriously ill patients and said she doesn’t have a “problem” with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.

In a press release, Omar said that “our nation’s drug policies have been shaped by stigma.”

“The American people overwhelmingly support cannabis reform, and yet the federal government continues to tie the hands of its own experts,” she said. “The Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act is about bringing our laws into the 21st century, ensuring that the Office of National Drug Control Policy can do its job guided by facts, not outdated ideology. We need drug policy to follow the science and reflect the reality on the ground in states across the country.”

The legislation is also being backed by a wide range of advocacy organizations, including the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Nevada Cannabis Association, National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), NORML, Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), Parabola Center for Law and Policy, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), U.S. Cannabis Roundtable (USCC), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA).

“The Drug Policy Alliance is proud to support the Evidence-Based Drug Policy Reform Act because it removes unnecessary barriers to ensure that the Office of National Drug Control Policy is empowered to develop drug policy based on evidence, not outdated political mandates,” Cat Packer, director of drug markets & legal regulation at DPA, said.

“To advance policies that support public health, promote fairness, and meet the needs of the American people, ONDCP must be free to study the full range of public policy approaches—including the impacts of cannabis policy changes such as legalization and regulation,” she said.

Titus on Tuesday separately talked about another bill that she recently filed alongside fellow Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) titled the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) 2.0 Act.

“This just says, ‘Let the federal government get out of the way,’” she said. “The states are moving ahead. They’re doing it through referenda. They’re doing it through state legislatures. Why is the federal government dragging so far behind?”

The congresswoman also noted that she sent a letter to congressional appropriations leaders recently that calls for language to be added to spending legislation that prevents the use of DOJ funds to interfere in any state cannabis program.

“We want to be sure that they can’t undo things,” she said. “The progress towards this is stalled in the executive department. Despite what Trump said on the campaign trail, we don’t see much of it moving. So it’s going to be up to us to do it in Congress.”

View this post on Instagram

That appeared to be a reference to the president’s endorsement of marijuana rescheduling and industry banking access ahead of his November election victory. In the months since, Trump has been notably silent on the issue—and the DEA rescheduling process remains stalled.

“We must decriminalize cannabis nationwide,” Omar said at the LPP event on Tuesday. “We must expunge federal cannabis convictions. We must also invest in communities that have endured the wars of these unjust policies for decades.”

Meanwhile, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Trump’s first pick for U.S. attorney general before he withdrew from consideration, said on Monday that there’s a “winning coalition” of libertarian-leaning Republicans and Democrats to federally legalize marijuana—but only if Democrats drop their push for social equity and “reparations.”

Since Gaetz withdrew, however, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to legalize medical cannabis.

Adding to the uncertainty around the fate of the rescheduling proposal, Trump’s nominee to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

Meanwhile, although shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, a U.S. attorney who recently warned a Washington, D.C. cannabis shop about potential federal law violations says his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”

Separately last week, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”

A marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) also has released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.

The current acting administrator of DEA, Derek Maltz, has separately made a series of sensational claims about marijuana, calling it a gateway drug that sets children up to use other substances, suggesting marijuana use is linked to school shootings and alleging that the Justice Department “hijacked” the cannabis rescheduling process from DEA.

Earlier this month, DEA notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before Maltz.

Meanwhile, a recent poll found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms. And notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.

The survey showed that majorities of overall voters (70 percent) and GOP voters (67 percent) back rescheduling cannabis.

The survey was first noted by CNN in a report last month that quoted a White House spokesperson saying the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail last year.

The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.

Meanwhile, former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House earlier this month, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.

Read the text of the Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act below: 

Supreme Court Gives Trump Administration More Time To Consider Challenging Marijuana And Gun Ownership Ruling