by Michelle Taylor
Demonstrators
march in November 2011 to protest the federal government’s crackdown on
California medical marijuana dispensaries during a rally in Sacramento,
Calif. (Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press file)
Today at 11:30 a.m. EDT, attendees of the National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference
will hold a rally on Capitol Hill urging members of Congress to pass
the CARERS Act, which seeks to protect medical cannabis users who comply
with their state law from federal prosecution.
The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act is similar to the current CJS amendment that prohibits the Department of Justice from spending its financial resources on the prosecution of medical cannabis conduct that is legal under state law. But, like all appropriations amendments, the protection lasts only one year and must be renewed at the end of each fiscal year. CJS is set to expire April 28, 2017. If the extension is not renewed, patients, caregivers, doctors and industry workers abiding by their state’s medical cannabis law will no longer be protected from federal prosecution.
CARERS also transfers marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act and, more importantly, excludes "cannabidiol" from the definition of marijuana, defining it separately as the substance cannabidiol as derived from marijuana, or the synthetic formulation.
Those at the rally are also expected to voice their support for H. R. 1227- Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017, a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill effectively decriminalizes cannabis at the federal level.
“We are very excited to have advocates from across the nation, and around the world, meet with Congressional representatives and share personal experiences about the indisposable impact of medical cannabis on their lives,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, the behind the National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference. “Our lobby day is a primary example of democracy in action, and has proven to make a significant difference in garnering support at the Federal level. We are hopeful that today’s events will continue to help push this issue forward.”
The political landscape for both medical and recreational marijuana changed once President Donald Trump took over the White House from former President Barack Obama. Trump’s Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has taken a hardline stance against cannabis for both uses.
“I’m definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” Sessions said last month. “I don’t think America is going to be a better place when more people are smoking pot.”
More recently, Sessions told reporters medical use of the drug has “been hyped, maybe too much.”
He said he was “astonished” to hear suggestions that medical marijuana could be a cure for America’s heroin crisis, saying the epidemic could not be defeated by offering addicts a drug that’s “only slightly less awful.”
However, research indicates otherwise.
A 2014 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found states that offered legal medical marijuana programs had a 25 percent lower opioid overdose mortality rate compared with states that had not legalized some form of cannabis.
The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act is similar to the current CJS amendment that prohibits the Department of Justice from spending its financial resources on the prosecution of medical cannabis conduct that is legal under state law. But, like all appropriations amendments, the protection lasts only one year and must be renewed at the end of each fiscal year. CJS is set to expire April 28, 2017. If the extension is not renewed, patients, caregivers, doctors and industry workers abiding by their state’s medical cannabis law will no longer be protected from federal prosecution.
CARERS also transfers marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act and, more importantly, excludes "cannabidiol" from the definition of marijuana, defining it separately as the substance cannabidiol as derived from marijuana, or the synthetic formulation.
Those at the rally are also expected to voice their support for H. R. 1227- Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017, a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill effectively decriminalizes cannabis at the federal level.
“We are very excited to have advocates from across the nation, and around the world, meet with Congressional representatives and share personal experiences about the indisposable impact of medical cannabis on their lives,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, the behind the National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference. “Our lobby day is a primary example of democracy in action, and has proven to make a significant difference in garnering support at the Federal level. We are hopeful that today’s events will continue to help push this issue forward.”
The political landscape for both medical and recreational marijuana changed once President Donald Trump took over the White House from former President Barack Obama. Trump’s Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has taken a hardline stance against cannabis for both uses.
“I’m definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” Sessions said last month. “I don’t think America is going to be a better place when more people are smoking pot.”
More recently, Sessions told reporters medical use of the drug has “been hyped, maybe too much.”
He said he was “astonished” to hear suggestions that medical marijuana could be a cure for America’s heroin crisis, saying the epidemic could not be defeated by offering addicts a drug that’s “only slightly less awful.”
However, research indicates otherwise.
A 2014 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found states that offered legal medical marijuana programs had a 25 percent lower opioid overdose mortality rate compared with states that had not legalized some form of cannabis.
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