A coalition of 45 marijuana advocacy and medical groups—including Americans for Safe Access (ASA), U.S. Pain Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Epilepsy Foundation of America and more—are calling on congressional lawmakers to ensure that state medical cannabis programs remain protected under spending legislation that's advancing.
Along with the letter sent to House and Senate appropriations leadership on Monday, ASA also noted that language currently in a House bill to continue existing protections for medical marijuana states against federal intervention omits Nebraska from the list of covered jurisdictions even though voters there legalized patient access to cannabis last year.
ASA is also urging the removal of a separate section of the 2025 spending legislation that would bar the Justice Department from rescheduling cannabis. That provision was included in the House spending bill covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) unveiled earlier this week that then advanced through subcommittee on Tuesday.
The rider that protects state medical cannabis laws from federal interference, meanwhile, has been part of federal law since 2014 but requires renewal on an annual basis as part of appropriations legislation.
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