While the administration’s medical cannabis rescheduling order is a welcome step forward, it falls well short of the comprehensive changes necessary to provide nationwide relief to patients — and it fails to harmonize state and federal marijuana policy.
Federal law enforcement officials in 2025 charged fewer than 400 people with marijuana trafficking, the lowest total ever.
“Starting today, lawmakers, regulators, and licensed providers must begin putting patients’ needs first.”
“This emergency regulation will help more Kentuckians reclaim their lives through safe, nonaddictive medical cannabis.” Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said.
“Sealing these records from public view is a logical and overdue step and will provide Alaskans with greater access to jobs, housing, education, and other economic opportunities.”
Under current law, possessing up to one ounce of cannabis is legal, but possessing between one and two ounces is classified as a criminal misdemeanor – punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.
“These findings add to the already robust evidence documenting the opioid-sparing effects of cannabis and highlight the role legal cannabis access can play in mitigating the public health burden associated with the use of prescription and non-prescription opiates.”
“Liberalizing marijuana laws continues to be a policy that is widely favored by voters. Elected officials who refuse to take action to end cannabis criminalization, or who vote stand in the way of these reform efforts, do so at their own political peril.”
NORML argues that the hearing record will be incomplete unless it includes the perspective of adult cannabis consumers — the constituency NORML has represented for more than fifty years.