The White House announced last Friday that President Biden (D) had signed into law the bipartisan Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (HR 8454). The signing was historic; it marked the first time a president has signed a standalone marijuana reform bill into law. Some marijuana reform measures have been passed before, but only as part of much broader appropriations bills.

With lead sponsors Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), head of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in their respective chambers, the bill passed by unanimous consent, first in the House and then late last month in the Senate.

The aim of the bill is to facilitate research on marijuana and its potential health benefits. The bill will accomplish this by streamlining the application process for scientific marijuana studies and removing existing barriers for researchers that frequently slow the research process. It will broaden marijuana research by allowing both private companies and research universities to seek DEA licenses to grow their own marijuana for research purposes.

The bill calls on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study potential therapeutic benefits of the plant, which could have an impact on a rescheduling review Biden ordered in October. But that HHS mandate also includes language requiring research on how marijuana may affect one's ability to drive and the impact of its use on teenage brains.

"Today marks a monumental step in remedying our federal cannabis laws," said Blumenauer and Cannabis Caucus co-chairs Dave Joyce (R-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Brian Mast R-FL) in a statement after the signing."We celebrate the enactment of this critical and long-overdue legislation, and we know there is much more to do to remedy the ongoing harms of the failed war on drugs."

Among the bill's cosponsors in the Senate was Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA). Both he and Sen. Feinstein have been among the Senate's most ardent drug warriors going well back into the last century. While this bill is fairly conservative -- it does not directly address rescheduling marijuana or take up the question of access to financial services, let alone legalization -- that both Feinstein and Grassley back it is a sign of how far we've come.

"I've heard directly from Iowans who are desperately in search of treatment options for conditions like child epilepsy," Grassley said in a statement "Unfortunately, many families have resorted to using untested, unregulated derivatives from the marijuana plant as a last resort to treat these conditions. Since 2015, I've pushed to expand medical research into marijuana derivatives such as cannabidiol to better understand their benefits and potential harms. This research is a critical step toward ensuring safe and effective therapies are also consistently regulated like any other prescription drug."

"There is substantial evidence that marijuana-derived medications can and are providing major health benefits," Sen. Feinstein said in a statement. "Our bill will make it easier to study how these medications can treat various conditions, resulting in more patients being able to easily access safe medications. We know that cannabidiol-derived medications can be effective for conditions like epilepsy. This bill will help refine current medical CBD practices and develop important new applications. After years of negotiation, I'm delighted that we're finally enacting this bill that will result in critical research that could help millions," she added.

Now is the time to press for more reform, said Blumenauer.

"Finally, the dam is starting to break," he said in a separate statement. "The passage of my Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act in the House and Senate represents a historic breakthrough in addressing the federal government's failed and misguided prohibition of cannabis."

"As we have seen in state after state, the public is tired of waiting for the federal government to catch up. Nearly half of our nation's population now live in states where adult-use of cannabis is legal. For far too long, Congress has stood in the way of science and progress, creating barriers for researchers attempting to study cannabis and its benefits. At a time when more than 155 million Americans reside where adult-use of cannabis is legal at the state or local level and there are four million registered medical marijuana users with many more likely to self-medicate, it is essential that we are able to fully study the impacts of cannabis use."

"The passage of this legislation coming just weeks after the change in President Biden's posture towards cannabis is extraordinarily significant. We must capitalize on this momentum to move subsequent common-sense House-passed bills like the SAFE Banking Act, which finally allows state-legal dispensaries to access banking services and reduce their risk of violent robberies."

There are, indeed, moves afoot to get the SAFE Banking Act passed during the remainder of the lame duck session, but time is running short and the clock is ticking.

A German provincial official seeks to scuttle the federal government's marijuana legalizattion plans, the first marijuana reform legislation passed by Congress is about to be signed into law, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Biden Will Sign Marijuana Research Bill This Week, White House Says. A bill to remove hurdles to marijuana research that passed the House two months ago and the Senate last week will be signed into law this week, the White House said. The bill, HR 8454, is the first marijuana reform legislation to ever pass Congress. The bill will create a more efficient pathway for researchers seeking large quantities of marijuana and will require that the attorney general act withing 60 days to either approve an application or seek more information from the applicant. The bill will also allow researchers to grow their own marijuana.

Law Enforcement

Texas GOP Representative to File Bill to More Harshly Punish Cartels. Conservative Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) is set to file a bill that would significantly ramp up penalties for people involved with Mexican drug trafficking organizations. The "Declaring War on the Cartels Act" (not yet available on the congressional website) would make crimes related to drug trafficking, human smuggling, sex trafficking, violence, fraud, and immigration offenses committed by cartel members punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. It would also bar cartel members and their families from admission to the US and allow for the revocation of naturalized citizenship and green cards for people convicted of such activity. It would also allow for the seizure of cartel funds, with those monies going into a special fund to increase enforcement against them. This is just the latest border bill Crenshaw has filed. He has also filed bills to allow for the longer detention of immigrant minors, ban asylum claims except at ports of entry, and to increase the number of ICE prosecutors.

 

International

Colombian Coca Grower Communities in Caqueta Declare Humanitarian Siege to Protest Forced Eradication. Coca growing communities in Caqueta state have mobilized to protest violent forced coca eradication and the national government’s failure five years after peace accords were signed to implement agreements for voluntary coca eradication and alternative development. More than 22,000 families signed up for that program, which is stalled. Peasants pointed to violent eradication campaigns in the Solano, Milán, La Montañita and El Pajuil areas in Caquetá. Peasant groups are calling for dialog to resolve issues that are pitting the peasantry against the military. The Colombian military claimed in August that forced eradication had ended, but the communities in Caqueta beg to differ.

 

Bavarian Health Minister Asks EU to Scuttle Germany’s Marijuana Legalization Plan. Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek met in Brussels with the European Union’s director-general for migration and home affairs last week in a bid to block the German federal government’s proposal to legalize marijuana. Holetschek is a member of the center-right Union bloc and strongly opposes Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s legalization blueprint. As part of that plan, the German proposal is being sent to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, to ensure it is compatible with EU and global drug laws. The German government says it will only move forward with legalization if the plan is approved by the EU. Holetschek warned that "the German government’s planned cannabis legalization doesn’t just endanger health, but I am convinced that it also violates European law."

The House passes a bill easing research barriers for medical marijuana, a horrible bill aimed at women emerges in Alabama, and more.

National

House Approves Bill to Ease Barriers to Medical Marijuana Research. The House passed the Medical Marijuana Research Act (HR 5657) on a vote of 343-75 Monday. All the no votes came from Republicans. The bill would streamline the process for scientists seeking to conduct medical marijuana research and mandate that the Department of Health and Human Services ensure there is an adequate supply of marijuana available for research use. Given that 37 states already allow medical marijuana use, it is in consumers' interest to further study the drug. "These actions highlight the need for increased research about safety and efficacy of the marijuana products being consumed by millions of Americans," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

Alabama

Alabama Bill Would Require Negative Pregnancy Test to Buy Medical Marijuana. A bill that would require women between the ages of 25 and 50 to produce a negative result from a pregnancy test from a doctor or medical lab before being allowed to purchase medical marijuana is moving in the state Senate. The bill would also ban mothers who are breastfeeding from purchasing medical marijuana, although it is difficult to see how that could be enforced. Senate Bill 324 passed out of the Senate Children, Youth and Human Services Committee on a 7-2 vote last week and awaits a Senate floor vote. But National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) called the bill "blatantly unconstitutional and unprecedented," laying the groundwork for a legal challenge if the bill were to become law. "We are very concerned that this is an invasion of the privacy of Alabama women and their right to equal protection under the law," said NAPW attorney Emma Roth.

Georgia

Georgia Bill to Allow Patients Access to Medical Marijuana Falls One Vote Short. State legislators approved a medical marijuana bill in 2015, but that bill left patients in the lurch because it did not provide any means of providing cannabis oil. A bill that would have finally allowed businesses to grow and sell cannabis oil, House Bill 738, passed the House earlier this year, but the Senate tabled the bill on a 28-27 vote in March, and now, the legislative session has ended without the Senate taking any further action.

Kentucky

Kentucky Medical Marijuana Bill Appears Dead. The House approved a medical marijuana bill, House Bill 136, in March, but it now appears the bill will go nowhere in the Senate even though polling shows it has the support of nine out of 10 Kentuckians. Senate President Robert Stivers (R) said he wants to see more testing before moving the bill forward. And Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer (R) said that while most of his constituents support medical marijuana, he does not, and if voters don't like it, they can "take it out" on him in the next election. He added that he does not think the bill has enough support to pass in the Senate, but advocates are demanding it get a vote anyway.

South Carolina

South Carolina Medical Marijuana Bill Faces Determined Opposition in House. A medical marijuana bill, the Compassionate Use Act (Senate Bill 150) easily passed the Senate earlier this year, but has been stalled in the House and faces a significant challenge if it moves there. Although the bill went over to the House Medical, Military, and Public and Municipal Affairs Committee on February 15, it will only get a committee hearing tomorrow, six weeks later. While the bill likely has sufficient support to pass in the House, opponents plan on stalling it by loading it down with superfluous amendments. One representative, John McCrory (R), is reportedly poised to offer up to 150 amendments if the bill makes it to the House floor, delaying its passage or frustrating supporters to the point they decline to take it up.  

A bill to establish the East Coast's first psychedelic medicine center is moving in Connecticut, Utah's Republican governor signs a psychedelic research bill, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Senate Unanimously Approves Marijuana Research Bill. The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill that aims to promote research into marijuana, the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act (S. 253). Sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the bill would ease the application process for researchers who want to study the plant. The bill also clearly states that doctors are allowed to discuss the pros and cons of marijuana with patients and requires the Department of Health and Human Services to report on potential health benefits of marijuana.

Medical Marijuana

Nebraska Medical Marijuana Campaign Takes Big Hit as Two Major Donors Die Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the group behind an ongoing medical marijuana initiative campaign, has been wounded by the sudden death of one major donor in a plane crash and the diagnosis of terminal cancer in another major donor. The campaign described the losses as a "huge setback." The group has a $500,000 fund-raising goal by May 1, and as of the end of February, it had only $30,000 in the bank. In 2020, the group managed to raise $2.5 million for the signature drive and general election campaign, which it won, only to see the victory overturned by the state Supreme Court.

Psychedelics

Connecticut Bill to Create Psychedelic Medicine Center Advances. A bill that would create the first psychedelic medicine center on the East Coast has advanced in the House. The measure, House Bill 5396, which assumes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon approve MDMA and psilocybin as treatments for PTSD and depression, respectively, aims to provide those drugs for medicinal use to "qualified patients," which includes veterans, retired first responders, direct care health care workers, and people from "historically underserved communities." The bill passed out of the Joint Health Care Committee last week and is now before the Office of Legislative Research and Fiscal Analysis.

Utah Governor Signs Psychedelic Study Bill into Law. Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has signed into law House Bill 167, which will create a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics and possible regulations for their legal use. The bill had strong support in the legislature, passing each chamber with only one no vote. The bill will create a Mental Illness Psychotherapy Taskforce to "study and make recommendations on drugs that may assist in treating mental illness." The drugs the panel will consider are controlled substances "not currently available for legal use."