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