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However, under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana remains classified as a Schedule 1 illegal drug with no medical uses, on par with heroin and LSD. The Drug Enforcement Agency strictly limits marijuana cultivation for research, frustrating scientists who are unable to investigate its medical benefits and risks under current regulations.
Rescheduling marijuana for research was an oft-repeated promise of President Joe Biden’s campaign, along with a pledge to decriminalize the use of cannabis and grant clemency to people with federal marijuana convictions.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the solicitor general to weigh in on whether state laws requiring that workers be reimbursed for the cost of medical marijuana to treat on-the-job injuries are preempted by federal drug law.
The court invited the government to file an amicus brief in a case brought by Daniel Bierbach, who was prescribed medical marijuana for an ankle injury he sustained while working for an all-terrain vehicle dealer in Minnesota.
All eyes are on Georgia and two runoff races Tuesday that will determine whether the U.S. Senate flips to Democrats, an outcome that could make the upper chamber more amenable to federal marijuana reform – perhaps even legalization.
Potentially billions of dollars of business opportunities are at stake, depending on the scope and shape of any reform legislation that comes before lawmakers.
The runoff races come only a month after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a historic bill that removes marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act.
Under, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), it is illegal “for any person through a pattern of racketeering activity… to acquire or maintain…any interest in or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities affect, interstate of foreign commerce”. Because marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, state-legal marijuana businesses, by definition, involve racketeering activity in violation of RICO. When the government employs RICO against a defendant, the prosecution must prove, under 18 U.S.C.
They are all Democrats, but the primary candidates vying for the right to challenge U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, differ on how they view legalization of recreational cannabis.
Montclair State University Professor Brigid Harrison, of Longport; West Cape May Commissioner John Francis; and former House Oversight Committee staffer Will Cunningham, of Vineland, favor legalization as a social justice and economic driver.
The employer argued that the workers’ compensation order to reimburse Hager for his medical marijuana violated the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”)[1], which criminalizes the possession, manufacture, or distribution of marijuana and therefore preempts New Jersey’s Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act (“Jake Honig Act”).[2] The employer further argued that the order required it to aid and abet the employee’s illegal use and possession of marijuana in violation of the CSA.
A congressional committee will debate two bills to federally legalize marijuana and several other pieces of cannabis research legislation next week, according to a briefing memo obtained by Marijuana Moment on Friday.
A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on various reform proposals on Wednesday, with witnesses from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) set to testify.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris are introducing legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and repair “the damage done by the war on drugs” as cannabis reform gains steam in Congress.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or the MORE Act, would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, decriminalizing the drug and allowing states to write their own policies. The legislation would require pot convictions to be expunged or resentenced.
With a congressional committee set to hold a first-ever hearing on ending federal marijuana prohibition on Wednesday, debate among legalization advocates over which piece of cannabis reform legislation would be the most effective and politically achievable is intensifying.
A key part of that conversation concerns the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act, which would amend the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to exempt state-legal marijuana activity from federal enforcement actions.
New Jersey’s Department of Health announced Monday that it will significantly boost the number of licenses it distributes in hopes of expanding the state’s medical marijuana program.
But accessing medical marijuana remains difficult for some patients, even in states that hope to permit its use, cannabis advocates say. Because cannabis remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it to reduce pain, treat anxiety or provide other much-touted health benefits.
