“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 No jurisdictions have ever repealed their medical marijuana laws—proof positive that these programs are working as intended and that abuses are minimal.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
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