New House Speaker Mike Johnson Consistently Votes Against Cannabis Reform

After a more than three-week vacancy, U.S. House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson as Speaker Wednesday in a unanimous vote among the GOP after a turbulent and trying few weeks for the party and the federal government.

Soon after being confirmed, Johnson, R-La., outlined some of his priorities, which include addressing the next spending bill to avoid a federal government shutdown before the Nov. 17 deadline, as well as addressing the ongoing conflict in Israel. Shortly after he was sworn in, the House passed a resolution in support of Israel in the war against Hamas, according to coverage from CNN.  

Barron’s noted that these and other issues would likely preoccupy work in the U.S. House for the rest of the year.

One of the key pieces of legislation the cannabis industry is hopeful for advancement is the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, a revised version of the SAFE Banking Act that has passed seven times in the U.S. House but has stalled in the Senate. The bill, which has bipartisan support and advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee at the end of September and has been officially placed on the Senate’s legislative calendar for a full floor vote, would offer safe harbor to financial institutions wishing to provide banking services to the industry. The lack of protections for financial institutions has long been a considerable barrier for state-legal, highly regulated plant-touching cannabis businesses.

RELATED: SAFE Banking Act: How We Got Here, What’s Next For SAFER

Major cannabis reform felt within reach for the first time in years, but with the chaos in House leadership, pressure to address the next spending bill and significant world events in the past few weeks, SAFER may get put on the back burner, again.

As speaker, Johnson will influence which legislation advances to the floor, and judging by his record, cannabis policy and reform will not be among his top concerns. Johnson, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2016 and is in his fourth term, has consistently not supported cannabis legislation, including voting against SAFE in 2019 and 2021. 

And according to his voting record, he has not supported legislation concerning cannabis for medical purposes or further research into the plant.

He voted against the Medical Marijuana Research Act and the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, a bill that passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law November 2022.

He did not vote on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill that would decriminalize cannabis and remove it from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. 

While serving in the Louisiana Legislature, he was also among 13 Republican representatives who voted against a 2015 state bill to reduce penalties for marijuana possession, which eventually passed with bipartisan support and was later signed into law. He also voted against a bill to expand the eligibility of medical cannabis at the state level in 2016. 

In its elections rating guide, NORML has given him an “F” rating when it comes to cannabis policy.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Rep. Mike Johnson noted in an interview that he opposed adult-use cannabis legalization. We apologize for the error.