What is the CARERS Act?

Medical cannabis is currently legal at the state level in more than two-thirds of the United States even though the federal government still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. However, legislation has been proposed over the years to modify the federal government’s position on cannabis. The latest piece of proposed legislation is the CARERS Act.

Introduced in Congress in 2019, this bill “removes restrictions on, and creates new protections for, conduct and activities related to medical marijuana that are authorized by state law.”

Its main objectives are to:

  • Allow states to set their own policies in regard to medical cannabis; patients, providers, and businesses that are acting in compliance with state law will no longer be considered in violation of federal law

  • Open up more opportunity for federally-approved cannabis research

  • Provide access to CBD to those in need

  • Allow banks to work with cannabis dispensaries in compliance with state law

  • Let Veterans Administration physicians recommend medical cannabis to their patients

  • Reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II

Originally introduced in 2015 by Senator Rand Paul, the CARERS Act is “the most serious proposal yet to deal with the inconsistencies in federal marijuana law and policy. Those inconsistencies continue and, with each new state reform, increase. Ongoing legal challenges and the changing conversation around marijuana policy at the federal and state levels have driven additional congressional support for passage of CARERS.”

This bill has bipartisan support and was sponsored in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Don Young (R-AK) and in the Senate by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

If the CARERS Act were to pass, medical cannabis research would expand exponentially. Three additional licences would be granted to institutions for federally-approved research. The more scientific research there is about medical cannabis, the better we will be able to understand how cannabis can be used as medicine for a variety of medical conditions.

As of July 2020, there are over 224,887,997 Americans living in medical cannabis states, districts and territories within the United States. The estimated number of all state-legal patients is only 4,375,822. With over 4.3 million Americans using medical cannabis, why has the federal government not recognized the medicinal value of cannabis?

What can you do to help pass the CARERS Act? Call your representatives in the House and the Senate! You can find information about how to contact your elected officials here. This issue should be a topic of discussion as we look toward the upcoming elections. Please continue to educate yourself and help end the stigma.

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