On January 15, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce held a legislative hearing on “Cannabis Policies for the New Decade,” the first-ever cannabis hearing for this particular legislative committee. The following people were in attendance to answer questions and provide testimony on cannabis policy:
- Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse;
- Matthew Strait, a senior policy advisor with the Drug Enforcement Administration; and
- Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of regulatory programs at the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The purpose of the hearing was to discuss six different marijuana-related pieces of legislation:
- H.R. 171, the Legitimate Use of Medicinal Marijuana Act - Legislation that would transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), specifying that no provision of the CSA or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act would prohibit or restrict activities related to a state’s legal medical marijuana program.
- H.R. 601, the Medical Cannabis Research Act of 2019 - Legislation requiring the attorney general to assess the supply of research-grade cannabis and to increase the number of federally approved cannabis manufacturers able to provide cannabis for research purposes.
- H.R. 1151, the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act - Legislation amending the CSA to include a safe harbor provision for U.S. veterans to access, use, possess, and transport medical marijuana. The bill would also allow physicians to discuss and recommend medical marijuana treatment with and for veterans.
- H.R. 2843, the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act - Legislation decriminalizing marijuana by removing marijuana and THC from the list of Schedule 1 substances under the CSA. The legislation would also impose sweeping changes, including directives to conduct research on the impact of marijuana, requiring the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau to adopt regulations and restrictions on marijuana advertising and promotion, and providing a grant for the creation of state and tribe marijuana conviction expungement programs.
- H.R. 3797, the Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2019 - Legislation directing the secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure a supply of marijuana for research purposes through the National Institute of Drug Abuse Drug Supply Program. The bill would also streamline the process for marijuana research applications and licenses.
- H.R. 3884, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 or the MORE Act of 2019 - Legislation directing the Attorney General to remove marijuana from the list of Schedule 1 Drugs under the CSA. The bill also notably would create an opportunity trust fund at the Treasury to support new programs, including the establishment of a Cannabis Justice Office within the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs and a Community Reinvestment Program that offers job training, reentry services, and legal aid for civil and criminal cases, including expungement of cannabis convictions.
Despite the six bills under consideration, nearly the entire three and a half hour hearing was devoted to a discussion of marijuana research and the catch-22 created by the CSA. That is, under the CSA, marijuana is a Schedule 1 controlled substance, and its classification as such has severely restricted the marijuana supply that research centers and universities may use to conduct studies. In fact, the only source of federally legal marijuana for research purposes is located at the University of Mississippi. Despite the severe shortage of marijuana available for research purposes, lawmakers have repeatedly balked at the idea of rescheduling cannabis absent further research and findings. Thus, a "chicken or the egg” situation exists where Congress has been unwilling to reschedule marijuana absent more scientific research, and more scientific research cannot be conducted without first rescheduling marijuana.
Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, expressed her frustration in working to study the effects of marijuana. Volkow testified that the complicated and protracted administrative procedure for obtaining federally legal marijuana for research purposes has dissuaded scientists from conducting clinical trials and that despite the public health urgency, legal and regulatory barriers continue to hinder the advancement of cannabis research. Volkow also noted that the current framework in which the University of Mississippi is the sole supplier of cannabis for research purposes limits the diversity of products and formulations available to researchers and slows the development of cannabis-based medications.
Matthew Strait, a senior policy advisor with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), testified that the DEA fully supports research into the effects of marijuana and its potential medical utility. Strait acknowledged the tricky position that researchers are in, due to the limitations on obtaining marijuana for research purposes. However, Strait assured the committee that the DEA is actively working to expand the research program, which would result in additional registered growers and a larger, more diverse variety of marijuana for research purposes.
Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of Regulatory Programs at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, also testified regarding the legal status of CBD (cannabidiol) and the FDA’s long-awaited rollout of comprehensive CBD regulations. However, Throckmorton also pointed to the lack of available research as a barrier for passing such regulations, stating that the FDA cannot adequately regulate CBD manufacturers’ health claims without being able to first test the product with respect to such claims.
In the wake of the January 15 hearing, those in the cannabis industry have expressed frustration that none of the six bills, three of which would decriminalize marijuana, were discussed in any meaningful way. But there is at least some reason for optimism given that this hearing took place and that Congress was willing to listen. Moreover, it appears that federal leadership is actively working to expand the amount of marijuana available for research purposes, thus expediting the further passage of meaningful federal cannabis reforms.
Reed Smith will continue to closely monitor developments in the cannabis industry and is able to help with any number of cannabis-related issues. For additional information, please visit Cannabis Law.
Client Alert 2020-020
