Senate Democrats reintroduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act: what it would mean for the USVI

As of July 17, 2026. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act on Thursday, July 16, with 14 additional Democratic cosponsors, according to a press release from Booker’s office and reporting from Marijuana Moment. The bill would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, stop a federal ban on hemp THC products scheduled to take effect November 12, and leave state and territorial cannabis laws in place.

The cosponsors named in the release are Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

What the bill would change

Booker’s release describes legislation “remov[ing] cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances” and leaving states to write their own cannabis laws. Marijuana Moment adds that the bill would also “prevent the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that is scheduled to take effect in November.”

Three provisions bear directly on the Virgin Islands:

Descheduling. Cannabis would come off the federal controlled substances list entirely, removing the federal criminal-law layer that sits on top of the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act. Banking access, federal tax treatment, and research rules would follow.
Hemp THC. The bill would block the federal hemp ban set to take effect November 12 under the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2026. That federal ban is separate from the territory’s own prohibition on unlicensed delta-6, delta-8, delta-10, and THCA sales under Act 9072, signed January 23. Act 9072 would stay in force whatever Congress does.
State and territorial authority. The public summary does not single out US territories. The Office of Cannabis Regulation would keep running the Virgin Islands program as written, without the federal Schedule I conflict that now shapes banking and licensing.

Alongside the DEA hearing

The bill landed one day after the DEA hearing on moving all marijuana to Schedule III closed on July 15. That proceeding follows the Justice Department’s April 22 order placing FDA-approved and state-licensed medical cannabis in Schedule III.

Descheduling would make the rescheduling proceeding moot. Rescheduling to Schedule III, if DEA finalizes it, would keep cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act. The sponsors drew that contrast in their release, saying rescheduling “would still allow the federal government to arrest and jail people who use cannabis in states where it is legal.”

What it means for the USVI launch

Executive Director Joanne Moorehead has tied the fall 2026 dispensary launch to a banking arrangement for licensees. That arrangement works under current federal law and would be simpler under descheduling. Neither the DEA proceeding nor this bill is expected to finish before OCR’s second-round license application window closes on September 15.

The bill has 17 Democratic sponsors and cosponsors in a Senate with a Republican majority. Earlier versions did not receive a Senate vote.

What to watch

Committee referral, and whether a hearing is set before the August recess.
Whether any Republican senator signs on, and whether a House companion bill is filed.
Any comment from OCR or Government House on the bill.
The DEA Administrator’s decision on broader rescheduling, which has no set date. Post-hearing briefs in that case are due August 17.