Major Health Organizations Urge Congress to Maintain Protections for State Medical Cannabis Programs

A massive coalition of 45 major health and advocacy groups, including Americans for Safe Access and the National MS Society, is turning up the heat on Congress. They’ve sent a powerful letter demanding that lawmakers keep protecting state medical marijuana programs from federal interference and scrap a sneaky provision that would block the DEA from rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III.

While the medical rider has been a literal lifesaver since 2014, it currently leaves Nebraska patients out in the cold despite their recent legal win. Advocates are also sounding the alarm that stalling the rescheduling process is a total waste of resources that keeps critical medical research in limbo.

For the everyday toker and medical patient, this fight is everything. It’s about ensuring the feds can't kick down doors in legal states and finally acknowledging that cannabis is medicine on a federal level. Keeping these protections active is the only way to maintain the progress we’ve fought so hard for while pushing for a more accessible, science-backed future for the entire community.