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“To rectify this state/federal conflict…cannabis must be removed from the Controlled Substances Act altogether.”
By Paul Armentano, NORML
The Trump administration’s decision to reclassify state-authorized medical cannabis products and recognize state-licensed medical cannabis providers is a historic first step toward bringing federal drug policy into the 21st century.
For over 50 years, the federal government had clung firmly to its “Flat Earth” position that marijuana lacks any legitimate medical utility and belongs in the same federal classification as heroin.
And for much of this time, government officials went to extreme lengths to enforce this intellectually dishonest policy—even going so far as to threaten the livelihoods of physicians who dared to discuss medical cannabis options with their patients.
But patients, physicians and advocates bravely and steadfastly fought back. Over time, scientific, political and public consensus became too great to ignore.
Forty states, beginning with California in 1996, have legalized physician-authorized access to medicinal cannabis products. Many of these state-level programs have been in place for decades, much to the satisfaction of patients and their physicians. No jurisdictions have ever repealed their medical marijuana laws—proof positive that these programs are working as intended and that abuses are minimal.
Further, 69 percent of family physicians, nurse practitioners and other health professionals nationwide now agree that cannabis has well-established medical uses. And over one-quarter of clinicians acknowledge having recommended it to their patients.
According to an extensive 250-page review issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2023, more than 6 million patients use medical cannabis under their physicians’ supervision. The public health agency concluded, “No safety concerns were identified in our review that would indicate that the medical use of marijuana poses unacceptably high safety risks for the indications where there is some credible scientific evidence supporting its therapeutic use.”
This includes the use of cannabis for the mitigation and management of chronic pain. Nearly a decade ago, researchers affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences determined that there exists “conclusive evidence” that cannabis is “effective” in treating chronic pain conditions.
Yet it took until just recently for the federal government to finally acknowledge this reality.
But while the administration’s medical cannabis rescheduling order is an important and welcome step forward, it still falls well short of the comprehensive changes necessary to provide nationwide relief to patients—and it fails to harmonize state and federal marijuana policy.
Specifically, this new order does not aid patients residing in the 10 U.S. states that do not yet regulate medical cannabis use. They will continue to have to fend for themselves. And they will continue to risk arrest and prosecution for doing so.
Further, this federal policy change provides no legal remedies for either the thousands of businesses or the millions of consumers who reside in the 24 states that have legalized recreational marijuana for adults. Even with this change, adults who sell or consume cannabis in accordance with their state laws are still technically breaking federal law.
To rectify this state/federal conflict—and to provide state governments with the explicit authority to establish their own adult-use cannabis regulatory policies, like they already do with alcohol—cannabis must be removed from the Controlled Substances Act altogether.
Doing so would affirm America’s longstanding principles of federalism and appeal to Americans’ deep-rooted desires to be free from undue government intrusion into their daily lives.
Let’s hope it doesn’t take federal officials another 50 years to act accordingly.
Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
This op-ed was first published by OtherWords.
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