Major Health Groups Push Congress To Keep Protecting State Medical Marijuana Laws From Federal Interference

A coalition of 45 marijuana advocacy and medical groups—including Americans
for Safe Access (ASA), U.S. Pain Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis
Society, Epilepsy Foundation of America and more—are calling on
congressional lawmakers to ensure that state medical cannabis programs
remain protected under spending legislation that’s advancing.

Along with the letter sent to House and Senate appropriations leadership on
Monday, ASA also noted that language currently in a House bill to continue
existing protections for medical marijuana states against federal
intervention omits Nebraska from the list of covered jurisdictions even
though voters there legalized patient access to cannabis last year.

ASA is also urging the removal of a separate section of the 2025 spending
legislation that would bar the Justice Department from rescheduling cannabis.
That provision was included in the House spending bill covering Commerce,
Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) unveiled earlier this week
that then advanced through subcommittee on Tuesday.

The rider that protects state medical cannabis laws from federal
interference, meanwhile, has been part of federal law since 2014 but
requires renewal on an annual basis as part of appropriations legislation.

“Medical cannabis patients are living with one or more medical conditions
or experiencing symptoms for which cannabis or a cannabinoid-based product
may be the only treatment option, a more suitable option, or work as an
adjunct treatment, including side-effect mitigation from other medications
in their treatment plans,” the signatories of the new coalition letter
wrote. “Patients consistently report improved symptom relief, better daily
functioning, and enhanced mental health with access to medical cannabis.”

“Medical cannabis programs have become a lifeline for millions of
Americans, including many of the 30 million Americans living with one of
7,000 known rare diseases (95 percent of which have no FDA-approved
treatment available) as well as the one-third of Americans who live with
chronic pain and the 10% of Americans living with debilitating, intractable
pain. In fact, research generated from the state programs suggests medical
cannabis may help some patients reduce or avoid certain high-risk
medications, including opioids, contributing to lower rates of overdose and
medication-related complications.”

“Over the last decade, significant barriers to cannabis reform have been
dismantled,” the letter continues. “Advocates have successfully championed
regulatory changes enabling U.S.-based cannabis research, debunked outdated
misconceptions in federal agencies, changed the scheduling of cannabis
under United Nations treaties, established rigorous safety standards, and
demonstrated clear medical benefits recognized by the [Food and Drug
Administration].”

“You have the power to protect the health, safety, and dignity of millions
of Americans,” the letter concludes. “Until comprehensive, permanent
federal legislation is enacted to align federal cannabis policy with state
laws and integrate medical cannabis into mainstream healthcare, maintaining
the Medical Cannabis CJS Amendment is essential.”

Other signatories on the letter include the Tourette Association of
America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AIDS United and
Minorities for Medical Marijuana.

For the second time now, the base legislation contains language hostile to
marijuana rescheduling efforts that remain ongoing.

Specifically, the bill would block the Justice Department from using its
funds to reschedule or deschedule marijuana. Under the Biden
administration, DOJ recommended moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule
III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), but that process has been
delayed for months amid challenges from witnesses in the administrative
hearings.

The language cleared committee as part of the last CJR spending bill, but
it was not ultimately enacted into law.

GOP senators have separately tried to block the administration from
rescheduling cannabis as part of a standalone bill filed in 2023, but that
proposal did not receive a hearing or vote.

Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently notified an
agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process remains stalled under
the Trump administration.

It’s been over six months since DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John
Mulrooney temporarily paused hearings on a proposal to move cannabis to
Schedule III. And in a joint report to the judge submitted earlier this
month, DEA attorneys and rescheduling proponents said they’re still at an
impasse.

The longstanding medical cannabis rider as it appears in the new House
spending bill contains a new addition stipulating that the Justice
Department can still enforce a section of U.S. code that calls for
increased penalties for distributing cannabis within 1,000 feet of an
elementary school, vocational school, college, playground or public housing
unit. That language was first included in the last version of the
appropriations legislation.

“The inclusion of the Medical Cannabis Amendment language is a partial
victory for patients,” Steph Sherer, founder of Americans for Safe Access,
said in a press release. “However, the changes to the amendment would put
patients in harm’s way, and stopping the rescheduling process at this time
would not only be a waste of taxpayers’ dollars, but also an unnecessary
roadblock in getting to the truth about the medical uses of cannabis.”

The CJS bill also keeps intact another longstanding rider preventing DOJ
interference in state hemp research programs.

Meanwhile, a retired professional football player who’s since become an
advocate for marijuana policy reform met with top Trump administration
officials at the White House last week to discuss the ongoing federal
cannabis rescheduling process.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. was previously vocal about his support for legalizing cannabis,
as well as psychedelics therapy. But during his Senate confirmation process
in February, he said that he would defer to DEA on marijuana rescheduling in
his new role.

Separately, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was reportedly photographed
reviewing a document that appears to be a draft contract to provide
services—including “administration-related guidance”—to a firm affiliated
with the major marijuana company Trulieve. The visible portion of the
document describes a lucrative bonus if a certain “matter resolves,” with
an “additional ‘Super Success Fee’” for other “exclusive policy remedies.”

Last month, the former congressman reiterated his own support for
rescheduling cannabis—suggesting in an interview with a Florida Republican
lawmaker that the GOP could win more of the youth vote by embracing
marijuana reform.

Gaetz also said last month that Trump’s endorsement of a Schedule III
reclassification was essentially an attempt to shore up support among young
voters rather than a sincere reflection of his personal views about
cannabis.

A survey conducted by a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump that was
released in April found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of
cannabis reforms, including rescheduling. And, notably, they’re even more
supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal
interference compared to the average voter.

Meanwhile, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to
run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation
hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana
policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to
legalize medical cannabis.

Amid the stalled marijuana rescheduling process that’s carried over from
the last presidential administration, congressional researchers recently
reiterated that lawmakers could enact the reform themselves with “greater
speed and flexibility” if they so choose, while potentially avoiding
judicial challenges.

Meanwhile, a newly formed coalition of professional athletes and
entertainers, led by retired boxer Mike Tyson, sent a letter to Trump on
Friday—thanking him for past clemency actions while emphasizing the
opportunity he has to best former President Joe Biden by rescheduling
marijuana, expanding pardons and freeing up banking services for licensed
cannabis businesses.

The post Major Health Groups Push Congress To Keep Protecting State Medical
Marijuana Laws From Federal Interference appeared first on Marijuana Moment.