Marijuana Opponents Cheer Congressional Move To Bar Fed Agency From Encouraging Illegal Drug Use In Impaired Driving PSAs

Prohibitionists are celebrating the inclusion of language in a major spending bill that would block a federal traffic safety agency from supporting ads to “encourage illegal drug or alcohol use,” seemingly in response to previous marketing materials that leaned into cannabis culture to deter impaired driving.

As part of the House appropriations bill covering Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) for the 2026 fiscal year that was approved in committee last month, there’s a new section that appears to take aim at certain National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) efforts to deter driving under the influence of marijuana.

Here’s the text of the relevant section:

“SEC. 141. None of the funds provided under this heading may be used to encourage illegal drug or alcohol use in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s impaired driving advertising campaigns.”

“Last year, NHTSA released taxpayer-funded impaired driving ads that trivialized marijuana use—even implying that using marijuana before driving was no big deal,” the anti-cannabis group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) said. “That’s not prevention. That’s promotion.”

“We requested this exact language to stop the federal government from encouraging drug use in its safety campaigns. And Congress listened,” SAM said. “This is the first time SAM has successfully added this kind of language to a federal report—a major milestone in protecting children and families from federally sponsored normalization of drug use.”

NHSTA, often in partnership with state agencies, has been working to get the word out on the dangers of driving while impaired from THC amid the state legalization movement, often with cheeky memes that are meant to appeal to the cannabis consumer community rather than scare them away with judgmental messaging as has been the government’s approach in the past.

For example, last December the agency released new messaging aimed at promoting safe driving habits among cannabis users. One ad featured what appeared to be a stoned Christmas tree-shaped cannabis bud and includes the reminder: “If you enjoy the holiday greenery, find a sober ride.”

In 2021, NHTSA tried to get the word out about the dangers of impaired driving through an ad featuring a computer-generated cheetah smoking a joint and driving a convertible.

The agency also played on horror-movie tropes in a 2020 ad featuring two men running for their lives from an axe murderer. The pair ultimately find a vehicle to escape the scene, but the driver pauses before he turns the key in the ignition. “Wait wait wait,” he says. “I can’t drive. I’m high.”

SAM also touted the fact that this year’s spending legislation covering Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) did not include any language that would allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to access banking services, as has been the case in past sessions.

“The wins in the FY26 FSGG and THUD bills show that common sense still has a place in Congress,” the group said. “Even powerful marijuana advocates are backing down under the pressure of facts, science, and a public health-centered strategy.”

“Make no mistake: Big Marijuana is watching. So are the psychedelic profiteers, the hemp loophole lobbyists, and every industry trying to normalize drug use in the name of profit,” they said. “We will not let them. These appropriations victories are another step in defending the truth—and in defending families across the country.”

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

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In separate appropriations-related news, a GOP senator has successfully blocked a proposed ban on hemp THC products that was included in a key spending bill, giving the industry a win amid contentious discussions around intoxicating cannabinoids.

Also on the Senate side, the Appropriations Committee recently adopted an amendment to a defense spending bill that would allow U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to recommend medical marijuana to military veterans living in legal states.

That panel also approved an appropriations measure that would maintain protections for states with medical marijuana programs, while omitting a separate proposal included in the House version of the annual appropriations legislation that would prevent the Justice Department from rescheduling cannabis.

Last month, meanwhile, House lawmakers advanced a spending bill that would maintain a controversial provision preventing Washington, D.C. from using its own tax dollars to create a regulated marijuana market.

Separately, a GOP-controlled House committee last month approved an amendment attached to a must-pass defense bill that would require a “progress report” on an ongoing psychedelic therapy pilot program for active duty military service members and veterans.

While Congress has been notably amenable to psychedelics research proposals in recent sessions, the House Rules Committee on Monday separately blocked a bipartisan amendment to a spending bill led by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) that would have given DOD another $10 million to support clinical trials into the therapeutic potential of substances such as ibogaine and psilocybin.

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.