A History of Medical Cannabis in America: Decriminalization
This is the third part of a series of blog posts about the history of medical cannabis in America. We want to provide our community with a detailed account of the evolution of medical cannabis law in the United States.
In the 1970s, the tide began to turn on the issue of medical cannabis. Efforts to decriminalize the use of medical cannabis increased. In 1975, a Washingtonian named Robert Randall was arrested for growing cannabis. He used it to relieve symptoms associated with glaucoma. At his trial, he employed a medical necessity defense to justify his use of medical cannabis. The court ruled in his favor and the charges against him were dismissed. As a result of an ensuing petition filed with the FDA, Randall became the first person to receive cannabis from the federal government.[1]
When Randall’s supply was cut off in 1978, he filed a lawsuit to restore it. In response, the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program was established.[2] The Compassionate IND program allowed patients with serious medical conditions to receive medical cannabis from the federal government on a recurring basis.[3]
At this time, a number of states began to pass legislation regarding the use of medical cannabis.[4] New Mexico was the first to do so in 1978 and over thirty other states followed suit by 1982.[5] The content of these laws were varied; the majority sought to provide medical cannabis through federally-approved research programs. Other states passed legislation allowing doctors to prescribe cannabis, or reclassifying cannabis on the state level, or affirming the right of individuals to present a medical necessity defense at trial.[6]
In 1986, public hearings began to be held regarding the matter of removing cannabis from the federal list of Schedule I drugs.[7] In September 1988, DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young ruled in favor of moving cannabis to a Schedule II classification.[8][9]
Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. … The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record.
DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young [10][11]
However, Young’s ruling was a non-binding recommendation and therefore was rejected in 1989 by John Lawn, the DEA Administrator.[12]
In 1991, the first American cannabis dispensaries opened. After the approval of Proposition P and the passage of Resolution 141-92, medical cannabis dispensaries opened in San Francisco. The resolution allowed the sale of cannabis to AIDS patients and other within the city, especially through the San Francisco Buyers Club.[13] Similar clubs opened throughout California as other cities passed legislation to support the use of medical cannabis. The Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana was founded in 1993 in Santa Cruz and the Oakland Buyers’ Cooperative was established in 1995.[14]
Following the success of Proposition P and other local initiatives in California, in November 1996, the state legalized the medical use of cannabis with the approval of Proposition 215.[15] Also called the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the measure allowed the use, possession, and cultivation of cannabis by patients with a physician’s recommendation, for the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or “any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.”[16]
A chain reaction followed, with other states approving medical cannabis ballot initiatives:
Washington (1998)
Oregon (1998)
Alaska (1998)
Nevada (1998)
District of Columbia (1998)
Maine (1999)
Colorado (2000)
Additionally, Hawaii became the first state to legalize medical cannabis through an act of the state legislature.[17]
In 1998, the residents of Washington, DC approved Initiative 59 to legalize the use of medical cannabis.[18] However, a series of amendments introduced by Representative Bob Barr and approved by Congress prevented its implementation for more than a decade. It wasn’t until 2009 that the Barr Amendment was removed from the annual DC appropriations bill and the original 1998 ballot initiative moved forward.[19] Interestingly, Representative Barr, who left Congress in 2003, lobbied for the defeat of the legislation he had authored, having reversed his opposition to the medical use of cannabis.[20]
After California passed Proposition 215, the Clinton administration threatened to revoke the prescription-writing abilities of doctors who recommended or prescribed cannabis.[21] The administration also threatened to criminally prosecute these physicians and ban them from participating in Medicare or Medicaid.[22] In response, a group of physicians formally challenged these policies as a violation of First Amendment rights. They prevailed in September 2000 with the case Conant v. McCaffrey, which affirmed the right of physicians to recommend, but not prescribe, medical cannabis.[23] This is why cannabis must be recommended instead of prescribed in all states where its medical use has been legalized.
In October 2009, the Ogden memo was issued by the Department of Justice. It advised US attorneys to only prosecute medical cannabis providers who violate state law or engage in other federally-illegal activity.[24] However, federal raids on medical cannabis providers increased following its release.[25] Eventually Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole issued a memorandum in 2013, which advised a deferential approach to states where medical cannabis was legal.[25]
In 2014, the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment was passed in Congress. It prohibited federal prosecution of individuals who are complying with state medical cannabis laws. The amendment passed in the House of Representatives by a 219-189 vote in 2014 and it was renewed the following year with a 242-186 vote.[26]
Now that we’ve taken a look at the history of medical cannabis on the national level, we will turn our focus to the history of medical cannabis in Maryland next time on the blog. Stay tuned!
