It’s Time For Congress To Create A Federal Pathway...

*“Congressional attention has drifted toward adult-use legalization and the
chaotic hemp-derived cannabinoid market, leaving medical cannabis patients
behind.”*

*By Steph Sherer, Americans for Safe Access*

After a decade-long “ceasefire” secured through annual appropriations
legislation, millions of patients and stakeholders in state medical
cannabis programs now face renewed threats. President Donald Trump’s FY
2026 budget proposal reveals not only the fragility of patient protections
but also exposes Congress’s failure to fulfill its promise to medical
cannabis patients.

The proposal omits critical spending restrictions on the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—protections that
have, since 2014, prevented federal interference in state medical cannabis
programs. Without these safeguards, hard-won protections established by the
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations
Amendment—commonly referred to as the Rohrabacher–Farr Amendment—would be
dismantled.

Since its passage, this amendment has shielded patients, caregivers, state
regulators and cannabis businesses from federal prosecution, arrest, asset
forfeiture and harassment. It was never intended as a permanent fix, but as
a temporary measure while Congress developed a national medical cannabis
policy. Unfortunately, that progress has stalled. Congressional attention
has drifted toward adult-use legalization and the chaotic hemp-derived
cannabinoid market, leaving medical cannabis patients behind.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee
in 2014, who was responsible for ensuring that the medical cannabis
protections ended up in the 2015 Budget bill signed by President Barack
Obama, summed up the sentiment of that time in 2016:

In recent sessions, Congress has largely abandoned meaningful efforts to
advance medical cannabis legislation. Instead, it has prioritized
industry-driven bills like cannabis banking reform and broad legalization
measures, neither of which is immediately politically viable nor sufficient
for meeting patient needs. If medical cannabis were federally recognized,
businesses serving patients would have access to banking.

While conversations around adult-use legalization should continue, they are
not a substitute for the urgent need to establish a separate, comprehensive
federal medical cannabis program.

More than six million Americans rely on state medical cannabis programs to
treat conditions like chronic pain, epilepsy, PTSD, multiple sclerosis and
chemotherapy-induced nausea. According to a 2021 JAMA Network Open study,
medical cannabis laws are associated with a 23 percent reduction in opioid
overdose deaths—just one example of how these programs improve health
outcomes and save lives.

Without the CJS amendment or comprehensive federal legislation, medical
cannabis programs remain at risk.

While the 2022 Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act
protects medical professionals, patients, caregivers and their providers
face renewed threats of criminalization. Removing this amendment signals a
dangerous shift away from compassion and common sense at the federal level.

Let’s be clear: The goal of the medical cannabis movement is not adult-use
cannabis. Recreational markets are not designed to meet patients’ clinical
needs for consistent, measurable and medically supervised cannabis
therapies. State-level experiments have shown that these markets fail to
deliver adequate products, pricing or protections for patients.

Efforts to protect medical cannabis access federally date back to the
1970s. In the 1980s, lawmakers like Reps. Stewart McKinney (R-CT) and Newt
Gingrich (R-GA) introduced legislation to provide compassionate access for
patients with life-threatening conditions. But those efforts collapsed
under the renewed drug war.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush shut down the federal Compassionate
Investigational New Drug (IND) program, which had allowed a small number of
patients—including glaucoma patient Robert Randall, the first to receive
federally supplied cannabis—to access medical cannabis legally. Its closure
left patients with nowhere to turn, sparking a grassroots movement to pass
state medical cannabis laws.

Three decades later, we are still operating under a patchwork of temporary
state protections. Patients in federal housing, active-duty military
members, federal employees and those in federally regulated healthcare
settings are barred from using cannabis. For many, traveling with or
relocating for medical cannabis treatment remains legally perilous, and
those who depend on Medicare or the Veterans Health Administration for
healthcare can only use cannabis medicines if they can afford to pay out of
pocket.

During the “ceasefire,” patient advocates have worked tirelessly to lay the
groundwork for permanent federal action. In the absence of comprehensive
congressional leadership, they have cleared many of the barriers that once
hindered reform. This includes championing regulatory changes to enable
U.S.-based research, debunking the long-discredited “gateway drug” theory
and establishing safety protocols for cannabis intended for human
consumption.

Advocates helped shape a marketplace capable of testing for a broad
spectrum of cannabinoids and contaminants, supported the rescheduling of
cannabis under United Nations treaties and collaborated with FDA to
demonstrate that cannabis has “accepted medical use in treatment in the
United States.”

Most significantly, they secured legal access for more than six million
Americans through state-based frameworks across 40 states, the District of
Columbia, and four U.S. territories.

The groundwork has been laid—now Congress must act.

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has long advocated for permanent reform
that would reclassify cannabis under a new Schedule VI and establish an
Office of Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoid Control within the Department of
Health and Human Services, creating a regulatory framework distinct from
those used for alcohol, tobacco or conventional pharmaceuticals. Patients
deserve more than workarounds—they deserve a healthcare system that can
address their medical needs.

The upcoming July markup of the FY 2026 CJS Appropriations Bill is a
critical opportunity. Congress must restore the CJS amendment and recommit
to building a permanent, patient-centered federal program. Patients should
not have to fight every year for basic protections.

Medical cannabis is not in competition with adult use, but history shows
us, across the U.S. and globe, that one does not happen without the other.

It’s time for Congress to move beyond temporary measures and create lasting
federal reform that will integrate medical cannabis into our health care
systems. Please join us in letting Congress know this is a priority.

For more information on the past and current fight for safe access, watch
this virtual town hall:

*Steph Sherer is the founder and executive director of Americans for Safe
Access (ASA) and the chair of the SafeAccess4All.org campaign. ASA is the
largest national organization of patients, medical cannabis providers,
medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and
legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research, with over
150,000 supporters in all 50 states.*

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Cannabis Access (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.