Cannabis Legislation Clears Congress for the First Time and is Heading to Biden
Legislation making it easier to conduct research into cannabis and encourage the development of drugs derived from the plant cleared the U.S. Senate unanimously Wednesday.
Having passed the U.S. House in July, the bill is on its way to President Joe Biden. It is the first marijuana legislation to get through Congress, and its chief sponsor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, said he hoped other bills could follow.
“After working on the issue of cannabis reform for decades, finally the dam is starting to break,” said Blumenauer, D-Ore., co-founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. He called it “a historic breakthrough in addressing the federal government’s failed and misguided prohibition of cannabis.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was still working to pass other marijuana legislation through the Senate. “It’s not easy but we’re making good progress,” he said Wednesday evening.
The bill would allow researchers to obtain cannabis samples from other sources than University of Mississippi, the only current federally approved source of weed.
It also would require the Drug Enforcement Agency to assess whether there is enough marijuana available for research, allow doctors to discuss the pros and cons of marijuana and CBD weed with patients, and have the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study the benefits and harms of cannabis, including its impact on the ability to drive a motor vehicle.
Both chambers passed similar but not identical bills this spring, and were able to work out their differences to get the measure through Congress. The House then approved the compromise measure in July after Blumenauer dropped a provision in the original bill allowing researchers to obtain cannabis samples from any states where the drug was legal.
“Researching marijuana is widely supported on both sides of the aisle, and it’s a smart step forward,” said U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the lead Republican Senate sponsor.
The legislation does not change marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 drug, which Biden in October asked officials to look at, while pardoning anyone convicted solely on federal charges of possessing cannabis.
It drew support not only from lawmakers pushing to end the federal ban on cannabis but those currently opposed to legalization.
Kevin Sabet, president and chief executive of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said the legislation showed that “we can lower barriers to marijuana research without descheduling and legalizing marijuana.”
“This legislation represents needed and meaningful reform to marijuana research,” he said. “Bills like this one are key for advancing a solid, science-based research agenda.”
Click here for the rest of the story!