PREPARE Act Creates Federal Commission to Map Out Cannabis Regulation Modeled on Alcohol Rules

The PREPARE Act of 2025 kicks off a formal process within the federal government to figure out how nationwide cannabis regulation could work. It establishes a "Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis," led by the Attorney General, specifically tasked with developing recommendations for a regulatory framework if federal prohibition ends. The core idea, as stated in the bill, is to model this potential future framework on existing federal and state alcohol regulations.

Charting the Course: What the Commission Will Tackle

This isn't just a theoretical exercise; the Commission has a detailed to-do list outlined in Section 4. Its main job is to advise the President and Congress on navigating the shift away from prohibition. Key areas they need to dig into include:

• Addressing Past Harms: Examining the impact of cannabis criminalization, especially on minority, low-income, and veteran communities, and suggesting solutions.
• Banking & Business: Finding ways to improve access to financial services for legitimate cannabis businesses, a major hurdle under current federal law.
• Research: Boosting research into cannabis, covering everything from medical applications (including within federal agencies like the VA) to understanding impairment for safety purposes.
• Product Safety: Developing consistent rules for cannabis product safety, usage guidelines, and labeling, explicitly including protections for minors.
• Taxes & Trade: Streamlining how cannabis revenue is reported and collected, and creating guidance for production, sales, and trade (within states, between states, and internationally).
• Hemp Harmony: Figuring out how the hemp and cannabis industries can coexist without issues like cross-pollination.

The Commission is required to seek public input early (within 60 days), hold public hearings featuring diverse voices (including state-licensed operators and formerly incarcerated individuals), and publish initial recommendations within 120 days, followed by a final report within one year.

Who Gets a Seat at the Table?

The bill specifies a wide range of members for this Commission, aiming for broad expertise. Appointments will come from Senate and House leadership (including specific requirements like someone formerly incarcerated for a non-violent cannabis offense and experts in substance abuse and criminalization history), the Attorney General (pulling from DOJ, a trade group, and state cannabis regulators), and heads of numerous federal departments like Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Treasury, and Transportation. Agencies like the ATF, NHTSA, and OSHA will also have representation. This mix suggests an effort to get input from regulatory, health, economic, and social justice perspectives. Importantly, Section 4 clarifies the Commission itself won't make rules; its role is purely advisory.

Reading Between the Lines: Planning, Not Legalizing (Yet)

Let's be clear: this bill doesn't legalize cannabis federally. What it does do is set up the official machinery to plan for that possibility. It acknowledges the current reality where 38 states have medical cannabis laws and 21 allow adult use, creating conflicts with ongoing federal prohibition. By tasking this Commission with studying how to regulate cannabis like alcohol, the PREPARE Act signals a potential pathway forward, focusing on practical issues like banking, research barriers, and consistent safety standards that affect businesses and consumers in states where cannabis is already legal. The reference to the Controlled Substances Act definition of 'Cannabis' grounds the Commission's work within existing federal law, even as it explores a post-prohibition future.