Bennet, Hickenlooper, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Deschedule Marijuana, End Federal Prohibition of Cannabis

Jul 29, 2026 | Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined 15 of their Senate colleagues to reintroduce their Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which would end the harmful federal ban of marijuana by removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances (descheduling) and empowering states to create their own laws.

"Congress should follow Colorado's lead and bring our nation's marijuana laws into the 21st century," said Bennet. "The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is long overdue and will help protect the legal cannabis economy as well as address historic inequities in our justice system."

"Colorado legalized marijuana fourteen years ago and now nearly half of the states have followed our lead," said Hickenlooper. "Yet, the federal government continues to drag its feet. We need to deschedule and decriminalize marijuana, then finish the job and expunge the records of everyone who was charged with federal marijuana crimes."

Specifically, CAOA establishes a federal regulatory framework to protect public health and safety, prioritizes restorative and economic justice to help undo the decades of harm caused by the failed war on drugs, ends discrimination in the provision of federal benefits on the basis of cannabis use, provides major investments for cannabis research, and strengthens worker protections. By decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level, CAOA also ensures that state-legal cannabis businesses or those in adjacent industries will no longer be denied access to bank accounts or financial services simply because of their ties to cannabis.

Bennet has repeatedly advocated for the support of the legal cannabis economy. In June 2024, he urged U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations leaders to allow legal cannabis small businesses to access programs and resources from the Small Business Administration. He also introduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act and the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act to provide legally operating cannabis businesses access to critical banking services.

In addition to Bennet and Hickenlooper, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) cosponsored this bill.

The text of the bill HERE.

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