Sponsors (2)
The bill significantly expands and funds university-led marijuana research and reduces administrative barriers and legal uncertainty for domestic research, while increasing federal spending, leaving certain legal and implementation risks, excluding some nonacademic or State‑restricted participants, and raising potential diversion and international-diplomacy concerns.
Researchers at U.S. colleges and universities will face fewer administrative barriers and faster, more consistent DEA interactions (centralized outreach, application fixes, and reporting), enabling more academic marijuana research.
The bill provides dedicated federal grant funding for marijuana research—$15M/year for medical/public-health studies and $15M/year for cultivation research (FY2026–2030)—expanding research capacity and jobs at universities.
Covered students and researchers are protected from losing federal student aid or other federal funding and from immigration consequences for participating in approved marijuana research, reducing personal risk for participants.
The bill increases federal spending and administrative costs (the two research grant streams of $15M/year each plus costs to stand up new offices), adding to taxpayers' obligations over FY2026–2030.
Researchers and institutions may still face federal criminal or legal exposure and broader federal–state scheduling tensions despite the bill's research permissions, creating uncertain legal risk for some projects and institutions.
Limiting awards to institutions of higher education and prioritizing entities in States/tribal lands where marijuana is legal could exclude qualified nonacademic researchers and disadvantage institutions and students in States where marijuana remains illegal, reducing nationwide participation and fairness.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Prioritizes universities and state/tribal entities in DEA registrations, creates DEA/NIH/USDA supports, and authorizes $15M/yr (FY2026–2030) each for NIDA and USDA research grants to expand marijuana research.
Official title: To streamline the process for institutions of higher education to research marijuana.
Introduced April 20, 2026 by Alice Costandina Titus · Last progress April 20, 2026
Creates new federal support and procedural changes to expand and speed university research on marijuana. It makes institutions of higher education (and state/tribal governments) a priority consideration in DEA registration decisions, directs DEA to create an Office of University Relations, requires an NIH-led interagency working group, and establishes competitive grant programs at NIDA and USDA with $15 million annually for FY2026–2030 each to study medical, public‑health, and agricultural aspects of marijuana. Also protects students, researchers, and institutions from losing federal student aid or other federal benefits for participating in controlled‑setting marijuana research, permits universities in jurisdictions where marijuana is legal to obtain marijuana from state/tribal regulators or law enforcement for certain research uses (but not to administer law‑enforcement‑sourced marijuana to people), and clarifies that a U.S. treaty obligation should not be read to bar these domestic research activities when done under U.S. law.