Medical Marijuana

Update: Tom Marino is no longer being considered for the position of Drug Czar.
The Trump Administration is widely expected to pick Representative Tom Marino for Drug Czar.

The Trump administration promised to eliminate bureaucratic waste. It should start by eliminating the office of the Drug Czar. 

The White House Drug Czar is required, by statute, “to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance that is listed in Schedule I” and to “ensure that no Federal funds … shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in Schedule I.” This narrow-minded, Flat Earth mentality refuses to acknowledge the reality that the majority of the country is now authorized to engage in the use of medical cannabis and it mandates that US drug policy be dictated by rhetoric and ideology rather than by science and evidence.

NORML opposes Marino’s appointment to Drug Czar and we further call for this anti-science position to be abolished entirely.

The Drug Czar’s office is a remnant of a bygone era when US drug policy was framed as a ‘war’ fueled largely by rhetoric and ideology. In 2017 we can do better and we must. The majority of Americans view drug abuse as a public health issue, they favor regulating cannabis as opposed to criminalizing it, and they are demanding policy changes based on facts.

Tell President Trump: There is no place for ‘Czars’ in today’s American government, particularly those who still cling to the outdated and failed drug war policies and misplaced ideologies of the past.

Update: House and Senate members failed to reconcile Amendment 2 implementation prior to the close of the 2017 legislative session. It will now be up to the Florida Department of Health to produce rules and regulations for the voter-initiated program. It is anticipated that the Department’s rules may be overly restrictive and will likely be challenged in court. Rules for the program must be in place by July.
Update: Senate members voted 31 to 7 in favor of a slightly amended version of the House bill. The measure now returns to the House for a confirmation vote. Backers of Amendment 2 have threatened to take legal action if the reconciled legislation keeps in place an existing ban on smoked cannabis.
Update: House members approved an amended version of HB 1397 by a vote of 105 to 9. As amended, the bill permits for edible formulations of cannabis and eases restrictions on vaporization. Patients would need to renew their physician’s recommendation every seven months as opposed to every 90 days. It also permits lawmakers to expand the number of state licensed dispensaries to 17 by July 1, 2018.
Update: The Florida House of Representatives further amended HB 1397 to be less restrictive and more in line with the Senate’s legislation. Final votes are expected this week
Update: Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee approved SB 406 on April 25.
Update: Members of the House Health & Human Services committee passed a committee substitute version of HB 1397 on April 24. The bill now awaits action from the full House. Efforts to reconcile the House bill with Senate Bill 406, a broader implementation bill, have so far not been successful.
Update: Members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services passed SB 406 on April 18.
Update: Members of the House Appropriations Committee passed HB 1397 on April 18.
On November 8th, more than 71 percent of Florida voters decided in favor of the constitutional amendment, Amendment 2, to allow for the licensed production, use, and dispensing of medical cannabis to patients with a doctor’s recommendation. However, state politicians are contemplating legislative efforts to amend the law in a manner that violates both its spirit and intent.

For example, House Bill 1397 creates numerous unnecessary barriers for patients. It does not allow for edibles cannabis preparations and it outlaws the smoking of herbal cannabis. Vaporization is permitted but only for those who are diagnosed with a terminal illness. Rather, it mandates patients to use pills, tinctures, patches or suppositories — formulations that are arguably less effective than herbal cannabis. Physicians are also unduly restricted under this measure, as they can not recommend a patients’ medical use of cannabis for longer than a 45-day period, and it mandates a 90-day waiting period prior to issuing recommendations, even for terminal patients.

House Bill 1397 also keeps in place existing caps on the number of state-licensed growers and dispensers. These caps are arbitrary and will not enable providers to keep up with increasing demand.

A preferable legislative effort is Senate Bill 406. Unlike the dueling House measure, this proposal permits patients to access edible and herbal forms of cannabis, allows for patients to vaporize their medicine, allows out-of-state patients with valid medical cards to obtain medical marijuana, and does not exclude chronic pain patients from being eligible to obtain cannabis. It eliminates the 90-day waiting period for recommending physicians and also extends the time-table of doctors’ recommendations from 45 to 90 days. However, the Senate measure — like the House measure — initially caps the number of available providers and dispensers.

Although neither of these bills truly satisfies the true intent of Amendment 2, Florida NORML contends that Senate Bill 406 is preferable to the House bill. With amendments to both bills expected, we urge Floridians to support the Senate implementation bill and to continue to advocate for further amendments to expand patients’ access.

NORML of Florida, Central Florida NORML, Tallahassee NORML, NORML of Miami and Regulate Florida will be in Tallahassee April 18th and 19th to lobby for sensible implementation of Amendment 2.  House and Senate hearings regarding both bills are scheduled for April 18 and public testimony will be permitted.
Enter your information below to send a message to your lawmakers to protect Amendment 2 and implement a robust medical marijuana program in the Sunshine State. 

Update: The Governor signed this legislation on June 22nd. 
Update: The Senate changes were approved by the House. HB 1488 now awaits the governor’s signature.
Legislation to expand Hawaii’s medical cannabis program has passed both legislative chambers.

The bill, HB 1488, has passed both the House and Senate. Senate changes to the bill must now be approved by members of the House before it can be sent to the Governor.

The bill expands the number of qualifying conditions eligible to receive cannabis therapy to include: lupus, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and autism. It also permits patients’ caregivers to engage in medical cannabis cultivation, among other changes. 

Full text of the measure is available here.

Update: Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law Tuesday a measure that expands the state’s medical marijuana program.
Update: SB 16 has passed both legislative chambers and now awaits the signature or veto of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. Should he fail to take action regarding the bill, SB 16 will become law absent his signature.
SB 16, a bill to expand Georgia’s CBD-exemption law is awaiting action from Gov. Nathan Deal.
The bill expands the qualifying pool of patients eligible to possess CBD extracts to include those with autism, epidermolysis bullosa, AIDS, Tourette’s Syndrome, severe peripheral neuropathy, or who are in hospice care. The law also exempts qualified patients registered to use CBD in other states. 
The measure does not provide a regulated, in state supply source where patients may legally obtain CBD-oil formulations.

Update: HR 1820 has been referred to committee.
Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), along with five co-sponsors, has reintroduced H.R. 1820, the Veterans Equal Access Act, which expands medical cannabis access to eligible military veterans.

Presently, V.A. doctors are forbidden from providing the paperwork necessary to complete a recommendation, thus forcing military veterans to seek the advice of a private, out-of-network physician. Passage of H.R. 1820 lifts this prohibition.

Last year, majorities in both the US House and Senate voted to include similar language as part of the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. However, Republicans sitting on the House Appropriations Committee elected to remove the language from the bill during a concurrence vote. Lawmakers must stop playing politics with veterans’ health and pass H.R. 1820.

Veterans are increasingly turning to medical cannabis as an effective alternative to opioids and other conventional medications. A retrospective review of patients’ symptoms published in 2014 in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs reported a greater than 75 percent reduction CAPS (Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Scale) symptom scores following cannabis therapy.

Our veterans deserve the option to legally access a botanical product that is objectively safer than the litany of pharmaceutical drugs it could replace.

Enter your information below to urge your lawmakers to support H.R. 1820, the Veterans Equal Access Act.

Update: All 3 bills have been referred to committee in their respective chamber.
Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Jared Polis have introduced legislation in the House and Senate — The Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act / Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act  — (SB 776 and HB 1841 / HB 1823) to permit states to establish their own marijuana regulatory policies free from federal interference. In addition to removing marijuana from the United States Controlled Substances Act, this legislation also removes enforcement power from the US Drug Enforcement Administration in matter concerning marijuana possession, production, and sales — thus permitting state governments to regulate these activities as they see fit. An additional excise tax would be levied on the sale of marijuana.  

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for qualified patients, while eight states now regulate the production and sale of marijuana to all adults. An estimated 63 million Americans now reside in jurisdictions where anyone over the age of 21 may possess cannabis legally. Voters support these policy changes. According to a 2017 Quinnipiac University poll, 59 percent of Americans support full marijuana legalization and 71 percent believe that states, not the federal government, should set marijuana policy. 

These statewide regulatory schemes are operating largely as voters and politicians intended. The enactment of these policies have not negatively impacted workplace safety, crime rates, traffic safety, or youth use patterns. They have stimulated economic development and tax revenue. Specifically, a 2017 report estimates that 123,000 Americans are now working full-time in the cannabis industry. Tax revenues from states like Colorado, Oregon, and Washington now exceed initial projections. Further, numerous studies have identified an association between cannabis access and lower rates of opioid use, abuse, hospitalizations, and mortality.

The ongoing enforcement of cannabis prohibition financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color.

By contrast, regulating the adult use of marijuana stimulates economic growth, saves lives, and has the support of the majority of the majority of Americans. 

Enter your information below to send a message to your members of Congress to support this effort. 

Update: SB 192 was signed into law June 2. 
Update: S. 192 passed the Senate on May 9 and was transmitted to Governor Hickenlooper on May 18. The bill now awaits his signature or veto.
Update: House members approved SB 192 on May 3 by a vote of 58 to 5. Because of House amendments, the bill returns to the Senate, which must either re-approve the measure or seek reconciliation.
Update: Members of the House Finance Committee have referred SB 192 to the Appropriations Committee.
Update: SB 192 passed the Senate on April 12 and now awaits action from the House.
Update: The bill passed 4-1 committee in the Republican Senate

State officials in Colorado are considering legislation, SB 192, to protect the state’s adult use marijuana industry in case of a potential federal crackdown. 

The bill would permit adult use growers and sellers to instantly reclassify their recreational marijuana inventory as medical marijuana “based on a business need due to a change in local, state, or federal law or enforcement policy.” In recent weeks, officials from the Trump administration have indicated that they may consider taking action against recreational marijuana providers, but that they will not likely move against state-licensed medical marijuana providers.
You can contact your local officials in support of SB 192 by using the pre-written letter below.

On March 10, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for the resignation of the 46 remaining US Attorneys who had been previously appointed under the Obama administration.

Members of the Senate will now be asked to consider new appointments. Please contact your Senator and urge him/her to consider those US Attorneys who will respect statewide marijuana laws. 

With 29 states having established medical marijuana programs and eight states having enacted adult-use regulatory laws, it is vital that those appointed to this prestigious position respect the will of the electorate.

US Attorneys possess broad authority when both interpreting the laws and prioritizing their enforcement. Under the past administration, US Attorneys largely took a ‘hands off’ approach in jurisdictions that had legalized the use of marijuana, as directed by the 2013 “Cole Memo.” Incoming US Attorneys ought to take a similar approach. 

Tell your Senator to defend the majority of voters who reside in legal cannabis states and to reject those nominees who will not support state marijuana laws. 

Update: LD 1064 was voted down on June 12 and will no longer recieve consideration this year. 
Update: LD 1064 was heard in committee on 4/4 at 1:00 PM.
Legislation is pending, LD 1064, to require health insurance policies to cover expenses related to the physician authorized use of medical cannabis.

The measure states, “A carrier offering a health plan in this State shall provide coverage for marijuana for  medical use for an enrollee who has received certification for the medical use of marijuana from a medical provider.”

The purchase of medical cannabis is a significant expense for many patients, particularly those dealing with chronic conditions for which cannabis-related products provide relief. Just as health insurance provide financial assistance to offset other medical and health-related expenditures, these policies should also address the medical use of marijuana.
Please enter your zip code below to urge lawmakers to support this legislation.