The law firm of choice for internationally focused companies

+263 242 744 677

admin@tsazim.com

4 Gunhill Avenue,

Harare, Zimbabwe

Reading the Tea Leaves for Cannabis Regulation – MedCity News


The
legal
status
of
marijuana
in
the
United
States
is
comparable
to
the
Korean
War:
The
conflict
ceased
long
ago,
yet
no
treaty
or
official
act
has
ever
formally
recognized
the
ending.


Now
comes
the
moment
that
the
conflict
between
federal
and
state
laws
over
cannabis
may
finally
have
its
de
facto
treaty
ratified

at
least
partially. 


Four
months
ago,
the
U.S.
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services
(HHS)



recommended
reclassifying
marijuana


to
Schedule
III,
a
categorization
for
drugs
with
“a
moderate
to
low
potential
for
drug
abuse.”


Under
the
Comprehensive
Drug
Abuse
Prevention
and
Control
Act
of
1970
(21
U.S.C.
§
812),
pot
has
been
relegated
to
the
same
bucket
of
allegedly
hazardous
substances
as
heroin
and
LSD

even
higher
than
for
the
classification
of
fentanyl
and
methamphetamine.


More
than
a
half-century
later,
the
feds
have
largely
turned
the
other
enforcement
cheek,
as
all
but
four
states
have



decriminalized
or
legalized
cannabis


for
either
medical
or
recreational
purposes
or
both. 


While
federal
law
remains
unaltered,
in
late
December,
President
Biden
announced
that
thousands
of
people
convicted
of
use
and
simple
possession
of
marijuana
on
federal
land
and
in
the
District
of
Columbia



would
be
eligible
for
pardons
.


Biden’s
announcement
is
the
latest
in
his



ongoing
push
for
marijuana
legal
reforms
.
With
the
national
election
months
away
and



70%
of
Americans


supporting
legalization,
2024
appears
perhaps
the
best
time
ever
for
the
incumbent
president
to
capitalize
on
public
support
for
change.


A
key
question,
of
course,
is
what
effect
further
reform
might
have
on
increasing
cannabis
treatments
for
a
growing
range
of
illnesses
and
conditions
that
may
respond
well
to
its
active
ingredients
tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC)
and/or
cannabidiol
(CBD).


Ever
since
Colorado
and
Washington
became
the
first
states
to
legalize
weed
for
recreational
use
in
2012,
scientists
and
private
groups
have
pursued
development
of
therapies
for
everything
from



Alzheimer’s
disease


to
the
tremors
of



Parkinson’s
disease


to
pain
management
for



cancer,
heart
disease,
diabetes,
arthritis,


and



endometriosis
,
a
reproductive
ailment
affecting



an
estimated
10%
of
females
.
Even
the



National
Institutes
of
Health


have
acknowledged
pot’s
therapeutic
potential.


Especially
encouraging
is
both
anecdotal
and
research
evidence
showing
that
THC,
marijuana’s
active
component,
can
be
effective
for
treatment
of
severe
forms
of



epileptic
seizures
,
most
notably
in
children.
For
this
reason,
in
2018
the
U.S.
Food
and
Drug
Administration
(FDA)
approved
the
cannabidiol
drug
(not
the
psychoactive
THC)
Epidolex
for
treatment
of
the
rare
but
severe
forms
of
epilepsy
known
as
Lennox-Gastault
and
Dravet
syndromes.


Public
opinion
has
swung
a
long
way
from
the
Cheech-and-Chong
days
of
1969,
when
the
first
Gallup
poll
on
marijuana
showed
that
only
12%
of
Americans
supported
legalization.
As
usual,
the
wheels
of
law
and
justice
turn
far
more
slowly.


One
reason
for
changing
sentiments:
Since
its
first
recreational-marijuana
dispensaries
opened
10
years
ago
this
New
Year’s
Day
(medicinal
pot
had
been
legal
for
more
than
a
decade),
Colorado
has
taken
in



$2.6
billion
in
tax
and
revenue
on
$15
billion
in
pot
sales
,
spurring
other
states
to
join
the
gold
rush
en
masse.
The
transition
stands
to
force
a
seismic
shift
in
the
national
legal
landscape
in
2024.


Photo:
Pablo
Porciuncula
BRUNE,/
AFP/Getty
Images



Editor’s
Note:
This
article
first
appeared
in
the
Healthcare
Docket
newsletter.




Click
here
to
subscribe
and
read
the
full
newsletter.