Major Health Groups Urge Congress to Protect State Medical Marijuana Laws
A coalition of 45 medical and advocacy groups has sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to ensure that state medical cannabis programs remain protected from federal interference. The letter was sent on Monday to House and Senate appropriations leadership.
The coalition, which includes organizations such as Americans for Safe Access, U.S. Pain Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Epilepsy Foundation of America, is calling on lawmakers to maintain the Medical Cannabis CJS Amendment, which has been part of federal law since 2014. The amendment requires renewal on an annual basis as part of appropriations legislation.
The letter highlights the importance of medical cannabis programs for patients who rely on the treatment to manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. The signatories note that medical cannabis patients are living with one or more medical conditions and that the treatment has been shown to provide improved symptom relief, better daily functioning, and enhanced mental health.
The coalition is also urging lawmakers to remove a provision in the 2025 spending legislation that would bar the Justice Department from rescheduling cannabis. This provision, which was included in the House spending bill, would effectively block the administration’s efforts to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
The letter also expresses concern about the omission of Nebraska from the list of covered jurisdictions in the current House bill. Nebraska voters legalized patient access to cannabis last year, and the coalition is calling on lawmakers to include the state in the list of protected jurisdictions.
The Medical Cannabis CJS Amendment has been a key provision in federal law for over a decade, and the coalition is urging lawmakers to maintain it as part of the spending legislation. The amendment has been instrumental in protecting state medical cannabis programs from federal interference and ensuring that patients have access to the treatment they need.
In a statement, Steph Sherer, founder of Americans for Safe Access, said, “The inclusion of the Medical Cannabis Amendment language is a partial victory for patients, but 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 coalition’s letter is the latest development in the ongoing debate over federal cannabis policy. The issue has been a contentious one, with some lawmakers pushing for greater federal control over cannabis and others advocating for greater state autonomy.
