Marijuana Reform Bill To Put Federal Policy In Line With Medical Research

A medical marijuana reform bill is set to unveil today by a bipartisan trio of senators, which would remove a number of the federal blockades to states that intend to implement medical marijuana treatments. The bill is sponsored by Senators Rand Paul, Cory Booker, and Kirsten Gillibrand. The drug policy reform organizations deemed it as "historic".

According to Washington Post, one of the major points of the bills is that it would no legalize medical marijuana per se, but it would amend various antiquated federal policies that have prohibited states from embarking on their own medical marijuana programs. In the same way, the bill aims to represent a fundamentally modest package of reforms that would connect federal policy at ease with the recommendations of large-scale medical organizations.

The American Medical Association suggested that "marijuana's status as a federal schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines."

While the American Cancer Society firmly believes that "the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration imposes numerous conditions on researchers and deters scientific study of cannabinoids."

These recommendations by the organizations regarding medical marijuana are especially significant given the fact that they all oppose the full legalization of cannabis.

The senate bill also states that it aims to help federal policy catch up with the public sentiment as well. A large portion of the American population have supported and backed the use of medical marijuana for how many decades now. Almost 90% of the Americans showed public support in the legalization of medical marijuana.

Above all, the Senate bill intends to bring federal and state policies align closer on the question of medical marijuana. As of today, 23 states plus the District of Columbia have allowed that use and have medical marijuana programs present in place.