Legislation, Senate Bill 683: The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act, is pending in the US Senate to strengthen statewide medical marijuana protections and impose various changes to federal law. The bill now has 15 cosponsors including high-ranking Democrat Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Democrat Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Identical companion legislation, HR 1538, is also pending in the US House of Representatives. It has 16 co-sponsors, eight Democrats and eight Republicans.
Passage of these measures permits qualified patients, doctors, and businesses to engage in state-sanctioned behavior involving the production, sale, or use of medical cannabis without fear of federal prosecution. The proposals reschedule marijuana at the federal level and remove the compound cannabidiol (CBD) from the Controlled Substances Act. Additional provisions would allow opportunities for financial institutions to legally provide services to medical marijuana businesses, permit VA doctors to authorize medical cannabis, and would remove existing federal barriers to clinical trial research. You can read the full text of the measures here.
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National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – Advocacy Campaigns
