A congressional panel has urged the Justice Department study the effectiveness state regulatory frameworks of marijuana. The panel also wants researchers to be allowed to study cannabis products purchased by consumers in states where it is legal.
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee released reports on spending bills that included cannabis language. This is as legislators work to pass legislation for multiple federal agencies.
There is new language in the report for the bill that covers Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. This has not been included in earlier versions. The committee says it is aware of the fact that over 20 states have legalized marijuana for adult use, and a majority of them allow medical cannabis. It urges the DOJ to coordinate with the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and other agencies to assess the state of marijuana regulation in these States, including any commonalities and innovative approaches to enforcement and supervision.
Rep. Dave Joyce, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and co-chairman of a spending bill report, proposed an alternative version in July that would have prompted White House to collaborate with other agencies on assessing state cannabis regulatory frameworks. The Appropriations committee rejected the congressman’s amendment, but the leaders adopted a section that gave DOJ this responsibility.
The language of the report is in line with Joyce’s larger goal to prepare the federal government for eventual legalization. He has separately sponsored separate legislation that would require the attorney-general to create a marijuana commission to study state cannabis markets, and make recommendations for a regulatory system similar to what is currently in place for alcoholic beverages.
The CJS report, as well as a separate report on the appropriations legislation for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, (LaborH), contain sections that deal with marijuana research, focusing on standardized driving tests.
The LaborH version of the letter is shorter, expressing its support for “the development of an objective standard of measurement to measure marijuana impairment, and a related field sobriety to improve highway safety”, and urging the National Institutes of Health to “continue to support a full spectrum of research on marijuana and its constituents, including research into how marijuana policies impact public health issues like drug-impaired drivers.”
The committee also states that it is “aware” that the majority of federal research has only been done on a single strain. This touches upon a concern that scientists and legislators have about the lack diversity of cannabis products that were authorized by the federal government for research. However, this overstates limitations as registered marijuana producers with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have cultivated a variety of varieties, but not to a scale which represents the range of products available in state market of different cannabinoid levels.
The committee states that it “encourages NIH” to “support research that encompasses diversity, quality and potency of cannabinoid-rich strains commonly available,” and “continues support for the development of a standard objective to measure marijuana impairment, as well as a related field sobriety objective test to ensure highway security.”
The report asks that NIH informs the committee within 120 days after enactment about its “efforts” to study marijuana and to expand researcher access to various marijuana strains.
The CJS Version also contains similar language. It conveys the committee’s support for the “development of an objective standard for measuring marijuana impairment, and a related field sobriety objective test to improve highway security.” It also refers to a Department of Transportation mandate in an infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2021 that the secretary submit a congressional report on Research Barriers inhibiting the Development of a Standardized Test.
DOT is required to release this report in conjunction with DOJ and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Last year, Sen. John Hickenlooper’s (D-CO) amendment to the Infrastructure Bill mandated this report. He pressed DOT to provide an update.
The CJS report states: “The Committee stresses the need for research which encompasses diversity, quality and potency products that are commonly available in retail to consumers or patients within States.”
The panel also referred to other previous appropriations reports language on marijuana research obstacles and directed DOJ provide an update to this end in a briefing within 60 days after the bill’s enactment, and “in advanced of the publication” required by the infrastructure legislation of the DOT Report and recommendations.
LaborH Report contains a separate section on drug harm reduction policy. It states that “the committee does not fund research into harm-reduction practices or policies.”
The report language comes as legislators in both chambers are working to advance the underlying legislation for funding federal agencies for fiscal year 2024. This session, numerous amendments on drug policy reform have been filed. However, the GOP-controlled House Rules Committee prevented many of them from being considered.
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The panel has yet to decide on additional amendments, including a bipartisan measure recently filed to the CJS Bill that would shield all state marijuana programs against federal intervention. Another led by a long-time GOP prohibitionist is to prevent the Biden Administration from rescheduling Cannabis.
A CJS amendment, sponsored by Rep. Robert Garcia(D-CA), would also block funding for drug testing federal job applicants. The congressman filed multiple versions of reforms to different spending bills in this year without success.
Garcia, in an interview with Marijuana Moment, said that federal legalization has been long overdue. In the meantime , he is using his experience as mayor of Long Beach reforming workplace cannabis policies to guide his congressional efforts.
The congressman also backed another CJS Amendment to Protect jurisdictions that legalize psilocybin as a therapeutic use, which was filed along with Rep. Earl Blumenauer(D-OR), a founder member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus . Blumenauer recently announced he would not be running for reelection in next year.
The GOP-controlled Rules Committee is uncertain about the measure, but the panel allowed separate GOP-led psychedelics bills to be considered in another appropriations package that eventually passed the House.
The House passed two amendments that would allow VA doctors the ability to recommend medical cannabis to veterans. Another would encourage the research of the therapeutic potential of psychedelics such as psilocybin or MDMA.
Last week, the Senate passed a bill that included a similar provision to Allow VA to issue recommendations for medical marijuana to veterans who live in states where it is legal — setting the stage for a conference with the House.
The House also approved in September a pair of measures for psychedelics, as well an amendment to create federal labeling requirements relating to marijuana interactions with prescribed drugs, as part of the Department of Defense spending legislation.
In July, the Senate passed a defense bill that included provisions prohibiting intelligence agencies such as the CIA or NSA from denying security clearances solely based on past marijuana usage. Other cannabis proposals such as that of Sen. Brian Schatz, D-HI, to allow medical marijuana use by vets , did not make it into the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Rules Committee blocked more than a dozen amendments on marijuana and psychedelics in the House version of NDAA. This happened in July. This includes a measure that was introduced by Garcia which would have prevented denial of security clearances to federal workers due to prior cannabis use.
In September, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee approved a bipartisan standalone bill that would prohibit the denial or refusal of federal employment and security clearances because a candidate has used marijuana in the past.
German lawmakers debate marijuana legalization proposal in committee hearing, with final vote scheduled later this month
The first time Marijuana Moment was published, the post Congressional Committee Urges DoJ To Study & Address Federal Research Barriers.
