CAOA

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is comprehensive federal reform legislation first introduced in 2022 by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ). CAOA would deschedule cannabis from the CSA; transfer primary federal regulatory authority to FDA (with TTB handling taxation); impose a federal excise tax rising from 5% to 25%; expunge federal cannabis convictions; create an Opportunity Trust Fund financed by excise-tax revenue to support social-equity and community-reinvestment programs; and regulate CBD in dietary supplements and foods. CAOA is more comprehensive than the MORE Act, adding a detailed federal market framework. S. 4226 was reintroduced in the 118th Congress on May 1, 2024, with 18 cosponsors; it did not advance. As of April 2026, CAOA has not been reintroduced in the 119th Congress and is effectively dead as a near-term vehicle — with Schumer now Senate Minority Leader, no Republican co-sponsor, and no committee pathway in the Republican-controlled Senate. Booker and Wyden remain vocal federal-reform advocates but have not filed a successor bill. *→ See also: MORE Act, Descheduling, FDA