Last year, President Joe Biden shared his commitment to federally reviewing the scheduling status of cannabis, removing it from the current Schedule I status of the Controlled Substances Act which deems it as carrying a “high abuse risk” with “no safe accepted medical use in the United States.”
While the process of descheduling and/or rescheduling cannabis is expected to be lofty, many regulators and politicians are keeping the pressure on Biden to stand by his promise. The announcement came alongside a number of pardons, albeit only for federal simple possession offenses, along with a call for state leaders to similarly pardon low-level cannabis offenses.
Now, at least five states are amping up the pressure and sharing key data from their respective medical cannabis programs with U.S. health regulators, to be used as part of the Biden administration’s cannabis scheduling review, according to MJBizDaily.
The data, including patient product information and how it affects users, was sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide researchers a more in depth look at cannabis use and how it serves medical patients around the country, beyond the already-available peer-reviewed studies.
Looking at the Schedule I requirement deeming that cannabis and other drugs in the category have “no safe accepted medical use,” the data is meant to influence the federal review of cannabis as a controlled substance, which continues to act as a barrier in enacting federal cannabis reform. If and when cannabis is finally made federally legal, many of the current industry hurdles around state-to-state regulation, issues with cannabis businesses and banking, interstate commerce and more may quickly resolve.
According to MJBizDaily, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Utah have shared information with federal health regulators, according to state cannabis market officials. Janaj Marcu, a researcher on the endocannabinoid system and scientific adviser to the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform (CCSR), predicted that this information will be “some of the most important data considered,” in regard to the scheduling of cannabis.
States shared the data at the encouragement of the Cannabis Regulators Association, which is composed of government officials overseeing state programs.
So far, much of the process around descheduling or rescheduling cannabis has been under wraps, though Congressional observers said that the revelation of states participating in the administrative review offers a rare look at the progress behind the long-running and highly anticipated shift.
However, federal health agencies declined to elaborate when it comes to the other studies or data officials are weighing as part of the review.
According to David Rak, research manager at the Minnesota Department of Public Health’s Office of Medical Cannabis, the office shared a subset of data without any identifying information with the FDA.
“We collect data from our patients every time they go to make a purchase at a dispensary (Patient Self Evaluation), and offer an optional survey at fixed intervals (Patient Experience Survey),” he told MJBizDaily. “So, we have a fair amount of data to analyze.”
Rak also said that Minnesota’s data includes reports of adverse events, like prescription drug interactions, though he noted very few such events had been reported.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission also confirmed that state officials had submitted data and information to the FDA surrounding the review of cannabis.
“We look forward to continuing to work with our partners at the state and federal level to encourage additional research and data-sharing, and ultimately impact nationwide policy,” it told MJBizDaily.
The report also notes that, regarding the review, it’s unclear how far federal health officials will go in their recommendation and how law enforcement will respond. The recommendation is due to the DEA by the end of the year. Specifically, regulators and industry experts wonder what evidence will be most persuasive among scientists at the FDA and HHS.
Ultimately, it’s unlikely that health officials will fully remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, though a rescheduling could also be cumbersome for some state frameworks. Exactly how the review pans out is still up for debate, though we will collectively know soon enough.
