US President Joe Biden intends to sign the bipartisan cannabis research bill into law. The text was adopted by the US Congress last Wednesday.
The Senate unanimously approved the legislation last week, two months after it was passed by the House of Representatives. This is the first piece of cannabis reform legislation in U.S. history to pass to the President.
“Yeah, he’s going to sign it,” a White House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment via email at Marijuana Moment.
After signing the legislation, the US Attorney General will have 60 days to either approve the request or request additional information.
What does the law contain?
the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act encourage the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US food and drug authority, to develop drugs derived from cannabis. One way it does this is to allow accredited medical and osteopathic schools, practitioners, research institutes and Schedule I-listed manufacturers to grow their own cannabis for research purposes.
Under the bill, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the anti-drug agency, would be responsible for approving applications to manufacture drugs derived from cannabis and approved by the FDA. Manufacturers would also be allowed to import cannabis to facilitate research into the plant’s therapeutic potential.
Another section requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review the health benefits and risks of cannabis, as well as policies that impede research on cannabis grown in legal states, and provide recommendations. to overcome these obstacles.
The bill further states that “it is not a violation of the Controlled Substances Act for a state-licensed physician to discuss” with their patients the risks and benefits of cannabis and cannabis-derived products. .
Joe Biden remains opposed to legalizing cannabis at the federal level, but he has campaigned on a number of smaller cannabis reforms, including promoting research, decriminalizing and reclassifying cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act ( THAT’S IT).
Last month, Joe Biden also pardoned Americans en masse for federal cannabis possession offenses and ordered an administrative review of the cannabis classification. The White House recently listed these actions among the president’s “major accomplishments.”
