Federal Rescheduling of Medical Cannabis: A Long-Overdue Opportunity to Lead with Science and Patient Care Realities

ABSTRACT 

"Cannabis has re-emerged as a widely used therapeutic medicine amid rapid expansion of state medical programs and historic United States (US) rescheduling to Schedule III, yet a century of US prohibition and global control-driven policy has left major gaps in the policy and evidence base. This commentary discusses historic and contemporary reforms within the global and US history of cannabis control and prohibition, outlines how federal rescheduling lowers barriers to research, and argues that states with mature medical markets and strong scientific and healthcare infrastructure are uniquely positioned to lead the next phase of medical cannabis science. This task requires a concerted effort across stakeholders and political independence of research from policy and regulation...

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This article, authored by Julie K. Johnson, PhD, Drudys Ledbetter, BSN, &  American for Safe Access Executive Director Steph Sherer, was featured in Clinical Therapeutics' Special Edition "Cannabis Research and Policy: A Joint Exploration of Past and Future Therapeutic Agency - Part II"