PREPARE Act of 2025
Key claim: A House bill would require the Justice Department to create a commission to study how the federal government could regulate adult-use cannabis after prohibition, but it has only been referred to committees and is not law.
Abstract
(HR2935 · 119th Congress) Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-prohibition Adult-use Regulated Environment Act of 2025 or the PREPARE Act of 2025 This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish the Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis to study a plausible and prompt pathway to cannabis regulation. Latest action (2025-04-17): Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Agriculture, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Why this matters
Federal cannabis policy debate includes both direct descheduling bills and preparatory measures like PREPARE, which would have the Justice Department study a post-prohibition regulatory framework before any legal change. Because the bill is only at committee referral, it changes nothing about how cannabis is scheduled, enforced, or covered today, but it signals continued congressional interest in planning for a potential federal regulatory regime.