Federal Leadership Needed to Protect and Expand Access to Cannabis Medicines

For the last decade, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have been barred from using federal funds to enforce federal cannabis laws in states with medical cannabis laws through an amendment to their budget (CJS Amendment). However, the current President’s budget proposal omits these critical protections, placing countless medical cannabis patients at risk and jeopardizing the integrity of medical cannabis programs across the country. Advocates now face an urgent battle to secure the continuation of these protections.

Initially passed by patient advocates as a temporary "cease-fire," the CJS Amendment was designed to shield stakeholders—including patients, caregivers, state employees, cannabis business owners, their employees, and landlords—from asset forfeiture, arrest, prosecution, and harassment by federal authorities enforcing cannabis laws. The intent was to provide essential protections while working toward comprehensive federal legislation to establish a permanent national medical cannabis program. More than a decade later, patients are still awaiting these crucial protections, and this interim measure is again under threat.

While it remains essential to prevent federal actions against medical cannabis access, this temporary approach is not a sustainable, long-term solution. Integrating cannabis fully into our healthcare systems requires Congressional action to create a dedicated pathway. The time for Congress to act decisively is now, to ensure medical cannabis is treated consistently and fairly within our national healthcare framework.

Please take a moment to contact your Senators and Congressional Representative. Anti-cannabis lobbyists are working overtime to take away these protections. If they do not hear from you, they will not know how to represent patients and medical cannabis stakeholders. 

We have provided a draft letter for you to send. Please modify and personalize it and hit send!