The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the Biden administration, will move to reclassify cannabis under Schedule III, meaning its medical benefits will be recognized by the federal government, the Associated Press first reported today. By all accounts, it’s a historic move by the DEA and the federal government as the plant was wrongly classified as a substance with no accepted medical value, for decades.

The DEA’s move to reclassify cannabis must first be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and for the first time in 50 years would recognize the medical uses of cannabis. The move to Schedule III was recently recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). By definition, Schedule I substances are criminally prohibited under federal law because they possess a “high potential” for abuse and have no currently accepted medical use. 

Leadership from The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) broke down the pros and cons of Schedule III and why this move is so historic.

“While the DEA’s decision fails to go far enough, it represents the first time the agency has ever abandoned its ‘Flat Earth’ position toward cannabis and acknowledged that the substance possesses legitimate therapeutic utility and that it doesn’t belong in the same federal classification as heroin,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano tells High Times. 

It won’t erase the discord between federal and state law fully, however. Armentano continues, “Unfortunately, this move—if and when finalized—continues to perpetuate the growing divide between federal marijuana laws and the marijuana laws of most states. It also fails to align with public opinion, as most Americans would like to see cannabis treated more like alcohol than like anabolic steroids.”

Fifty Years Under Schedule I

For the Scientific American, David Downs reported in 2016 that disgraced former Attorney General John Mitchell of the Nixon administration placed cannabis in this category as part of the classification or “scheduling” of all drugs under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.

U.S. leaders also provided comments on the DEA announcement.

“If today’s reporting proves true, we will be one step closer to ending the failed war on drugs,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer said in an emailed statement obtained by High Times. “Marijuana was scheduled more than 50 years ago based on stigma, not science. The American people have made clear in state after state that cannabis legalization is inevitable. The Biden-Harris Administration is listening.” 

According to the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), moving cannabis to Schedule III is expected to lift the unfair burden of 280E on thousands of state-legal cannabis businesses. The Legal Intelligencer reported that Schedule III would remove the prohibitions against tax deductions under tax code 280E.

“Moving marijuana out of its absurd classification as a Schedule I drug is long overdue and we applaud the administration for finally acknowledging the therapeutic value that has been widely accepted by the medical community and millions of medical cannabis patients for decades,” said CEO, Aaron Smith. “While this is undoubtedly a very positive first step, rescheduling will not end federal marijuana prohibition and doesn’t harmonize federal law with the laws allowing some form of legal cannabis in the vast majority of the states. In order for this move to be meaningful on the ground, we need clear enforcement guidelines issued to the DEA and FDA that would ensure the tens of thousands of state-licensed businesses responsibly serving cannabis to adults are not subject to sanctions or criminal prosecution under federal laws.”

“Further, it’s imperative that Congress build upon this development by passing comprehensive legislation to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and forge a new regulatory framework for whole plant cannabis products.” added Smith.

“The goal of any federal cannabis policy reform ought to be to address the existing, untenable divide between federal marijuana policy and the cannabis laws of the majority of US states,” he said. “Rescheduling the cannabis plant to Schedule III fails to adequately address this conflict, as existing state legalization laws—both adult use and medical—will continue to be in conflict with federal regulations, thereby perpetuating the existing divide between state and federal marijuana policies.”

Cannabis Industry Reacts

The US Cannabis Council (USCC) aims to be the voice of America’s regulated cannabis industry. “The US Cannabis Council strongly supports the move by the DEA to reclassify cannabis at a lower level under the Controlled Substances Act,” USCC Executive Director Edward Conklin said in a statement. “President Biden and his Administration should be commended for recognizing that cannabis was wrongly classified as a Schedule I controlled substance and pursuing an administrative review to reclassify it.

“The proposed DEA rule implements the recommendations of the Department of Health and Human Services, which were based on an extensive scientific review by the Food and Drug Administration. Once finalized, the reclassification of cannabis to Schedule III will mark the most significant federal cannabis reform in modern history and place the nation on a clear path toward our ultimate goal of federal legalization…”

High Times also received a high volume of comments from cannabis business leadership.

“Today’s decision by the DEA to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III is one of the most monumental developments that cannabis has seen in years and is a crucial step in undoing the harms caused by the failed and discriminatory War on Drugs,” said Matt Darin, CEO of Curaleaf. “We are thankful to President Biden and his Administration for helping to push this process forward. This ruling reflects evolving attitudes towards the plant, recognizing its well-documented therapeutic value and medicinal applications. It’s very clear that the country is ready for this step, given that 92% of Americans are now in support of legalization in some form. As the cannabis industry undergoes regulatory transformations, Curaleaf remains committed to collaborating with regulatory authorities, industry members, and the broader community to ensure the responsible and sustainable growth of the cannabis sector. The future for the cannabis industry is real and we look forward to seeing what 2024 has in store.”

“AYR Wellness applauds the historic proposal by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, in alignment with the science-backed recommendation made earlier this year by the Department of Health and Human Services,” David Goubert, President & CEO of AYR Wellness.

It’s now up to the OMB at the White House to give final approval of the DEA’s move to reschedule cannabis.

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New York State cannabis regulators are set to vote on proposed rules to govern home marijuana cultivation. If the draft regulations are approved, New Yorkers will be permitted to grow up to 12 cannabis plants at home, subject to some conditions and limitations.

The  New York Cannabis Control Board was initially scheduled to vote on adopting the proposed home weed cultivation rules at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 25. However, the board postponed the meeting earlier this week and will instead take up the matter at a meeting next month. Once the board gives its approval, the draft language will undergo a 60-day public comment period before they are finalized.

New York legislators legalized recreational cannabis with the passage of the Marihuana Regulation and Tax Act (MRTA) in 2021. The legislation approved home cannabis cultivation by adults, but enacting those provisions was delayed while the Office of Cannabis Management drafted regulations to govern home growing.

Rules Permit Up To 12 Weed Plants

Under the proposed home cultivation rules, New Yorkers aged 21 and older will be permitted to grow up to twelve cannabis plants, including six immature plants. The rules also allow for up to six mature plants, which the regulations define as plants showing visible flowers. 

Plants must be grown in a secure spot out of public view and inaccessible to those under 21. Adults are only permitted to grow at a single address, with the rules forbidding multiple cultivation sites operated by the same individual.

Amateur pot growers will be able to obtain cannabis seeds from any source. Weed plants, however, will only be legally available for sale in New York from cannabis retailers with nursery licenses.

Home growers will be allowed to possess up to five pounds of trimmed weed from their plants, a hefty increase in the normal three-ounce limit on pot possession in New York. Cultivators are permitted to gift cannabis to other adults, but unlicensed sales of marijuana are prohibited by state law.

Under the draft home cultivation rules, property owners and co-op boards are not allowed to prohibit the possession or home cultivation of cannabis. They may, however, adopt rules that require odor mitigation measures to be put in place by home growers.

Some New Yorkers Left Out

Not all New Yorkers will gain the right to grow cannabis at home, however. Home cultivation will not be permitted for residents of buildings operated by the New York City Housing Authority and other federally subsidized housing because of the continued illegality of marijuana at the federal level.

The coming rules for home weed cultivation in New York were applauded by groups including the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

“Adults should have the legal option to home-cultivate their own cannabis as an alternative to purchasing it from licensed retail producers,” the cannabis policy reform group wrote in a statement on Thursday. “This option is especially important for those who may not be able to consistently afford retail cannabis products, or who do not reside in close proximity to these outlets. State regulations governing the alcohol market permit adults the option to legally brew non-commercial quantities of their own alcohol, and it is consistent with this policy to similarly permit home cultivation.”

The home cultivation rules will give those frustrated with the slow pace of licensed dispensary openings a way to grow their own weed. Although the state’s first regulated pot shop opened in the closing days of 2022, a total of only 53 licensed retailers have opened statewide, including 23 in the Big Apple, according to the New York Post. Melissa Moore, of the Drug Policy Alliance, said the upcoming vote on the rules is a positive development for New Yorkers.

“It would just mean that people don’t necessarily have to go through consumer experience where they’re trying to find a dispensary, which has been quite a challenge as the state has been grappling with multiple lawsuits that have really delayed the rollout,” Moore said in a statement to Fox 5 television news.

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Over the last half-decade, millions of Americans have seen their marijuana-related convictions expunged by state courts, according to a new report from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

The findings highlight a byproduct of the legalization of recreational cannabis for adults, as states that have ended prohibition have also included a path toward pardons and expungements for those who have previously been busted for marijuana. Additionally, President Joe Biden issued pardons in 2022 to individuals with low-level federal marijuana convictions.

NORML’s report, based on publicly available information, revealed that “state and local courts have taken action on an estimated 2.3 million marijuana-related cases” since 2018. According to the report, the states “that have been most active in providing relief to those with past convictions include California, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia –– all states that have legalized recreational cannabis for adults. 

NORML said that it “estimates that state and local police have made more than 29 million marijuana-related arrests since 1965,” and that among those who were arrested, “some 90 percent were charged with low-level cannabis possession offenses.”

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans unduly carry the burden and stigma of a past conviction for behavior that most Americans, and a growing number of states, no longer consider to be a crime,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a statement on the report. “Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.”

NORML’s report details a number of examples of state governors and local officials issuing pardons for low-level pot convictions, including in Illinois, where Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued 11,017 pardons to those with low-level marijuana convictions in 2019.

In the report, NORML also breaks down the differences between pardons and expungements.

“While pardons provide a level of forgiveness for past crimes, these are not the same as expungements – which seal past convictions from public view. To facilitate the latter, lawmakers in many states in recent years have enacted laws providing explicit pathways to expunge the records of those with low-level marijuana convictions. In some cases, those eligible for expungement relief are not required to take any action. Instead, state officials automatically review past records and notify those who meet the state’s criteria for expungement. In other cases, state law requires those seeking to have their records expunged to petition the courts in order to have their records reviewed and vacated,” the report said. “Predictably, states that have automated the review and expungement process have seen a massive uptick in the processing of marijuana-related expungements.”

Despite all the sweeping reforms at the state and local level, cannabis remains prohibited under federal law. But Biden’s actions were significant, affecting around 6,500 United States citizens.

“As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.  Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.  And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates,” Biden said in 2022 after issuing the pardons. 

In addition to the pardons, Biden also urged “all Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses.”  

“Just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” the president said, adding that he had asked “the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”

“Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances.  This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine – the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic,” he said.

A year later, President Biden issued a second pardon proclamation that “will pardon additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law.” 

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana.  It’s time that we right these wrongs,” Biden said in 2023. “Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the use or possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either. That’s why I continue to urge Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses and applaud those who have since taken action.”

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The wave of legalization that has swept over the United States in the last decade has coincided with a swell in published research on cannabis.

That is the finding unearthed by the marijuana advocacy group NORML this week. 

Citing the results of a keyword search of the the National Library of Medicine/PubMed.gov website, NORML said that, for the third year in a row, “researchers worldwide published over 4,000 scientific papers specific to cannabis, its active constituents, and their effects.” 

“Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about the cannabis plant — with researchers publishing more than 32,000 scientific papers about cannabis since the beginning of 2013. Much of this uptick is a result of researchers’ newfound focus on marijuana’s therapeutic activities as well investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws,” NORML said.

According to NORML, “more than 70 percent of all peer-reviewed scientific papers about marijuana have been published in the past ten years, and over 90 percent of this literature has been published since 2002.”

“As of this writing, PubMed.gov cites over 45,900 scientific papers on marijuana dating back to the year 1840. Available to the public online since 1996, PubMed is a free resource supporting the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature,” the organization added.

NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that the finding refutes critics who argue that there is insufficient research on cannabis.

“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” Armentano said in a statement. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”

It seems that each week brings a fresh study on marijuana, and its effects on the mind and body. And not all of the findings provided support to marijuana advocates.

One such study, published last month, found scant evidence that using cannabis can help addicts reduce or stop their long-term intake of illicit opioids.

The study out of Australia involved more than 600 heroin addicts, and spanned 20 years.

“Cannabis use is common among individuals with opioid use disorder, but it remains unclear whether cannabis use is associated with an increase or a reduction in illicit opioid use. To overcome limitations identified in previous longitudinal studies with limited follow-ups, the authors examined a within-person reciprocal relationship between cannabis and heroin use at several follow-ups over 18 to 20 years,” the researchers wrote in their introduction.

“After accounting for a range of demographic variables, other substance use, and mental and physical health measures, an increase in cannabis use 24 months after baseline was significantly associated with an increase in heroin use at 36 months (estimate=0.21, SE=0.10). Additionally, an increase in heroin use at 3 months and 24 months was significantly associated with a decrease in cannabis use at 12 months (estimate=−0.27, SE=0.09) and 36 months (estimate=−0.22, SE=0.08). All other cross-lagged associations were not significant,” they said, in detailing their findings.

While the study produced “some evidence of a significant relationship between cannabis and heroin use at earlier follow-ups,” the researchers noted that it was “sparse and inconsistent across time points.” 

“Overall, there was insufficient evidence to suggest a unidirectional or bidirectional relationship between the use of these substances,” they said.

Another study, also published in November, explored whether or not cannabis is a psychedelic substance. The answer, it turns out, isn’t so simple.

“Cannabis and classic psychedelics are controlled substances with emerging evidence of efficacy in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric illnesses. Cannabis has largely not been regarded as having psychedelic effects in contemporary literature, despite many examples of historical use along with classic psychedelics to attain altered states of consciousness,” the researchers said. 

“Research into the ‘psychedelic’ effects of cannabis, and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in particular, could prove helpful for assessing potential therapeutic indications and elucidating the mechanism of action of both cannabis and classic psychedelics. This review aggregates and evaluates the literature assessing the capacity of cannabis to yield the perceptual changes, aversiveness, and mystical experiences more typically associated with classic psychedelics such as psilocybin. This review also provides a brief contrast of neuroimaging findings associated with the acute effects of cannabis and psychedelics. The available evidence suggests that high-THC cannabis may be able to elicit psychedelic effects, but that these effects may not have been observed in recent controlled research studies due to the doses, set, and settings commonly used.”

They added, “Research is needed to investigate the effects of high doses of THC in the context utilized in therapeutic studies of psychedelics aimed to occasion psychedelic and/or therapeutic experiences. If cannabis can reliably generate psychedelic experiences under these conditions, high-THC dose cannabis treatments should be explored as potential adjunctive treatments for psychiatric disorders and be considered as an active comparator in clinical trials involving traditional psychedelic medications.”

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Wyoming advocates are more motivated than ever to get a medical cannabis bill on the 2024 ballot, especially because of miscommunication in required signature counts from the Secretary of State’s office.

Advocates reported that inaccurate information was provided by the Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s office regarding how many signatures were actually needed for their initiatives to qualify for the 2024 ballot. According to the Casper Star Tribune, advocates believed they did not collect enough signatures that were necessary to submit the initiatives for ballot consideration based on the information they received from the office. They didn’t submit the signatures they already had based on that advice, but they actually had enough signatures to qualify.

The combined efforts of Compassionate Options Wyoming, Wyoming NORML, and the Wyoming Libertarian Party, all considered pursuing “political and legal options” due to the inaccurate guidance.

Two initiatives were initially going to be presented for qualification, including one which decriminalized possession for small amounts of cannabis, and another that legalized medical cannabis. Advocates initially announced they were unable to collect enough signatures earlier this year in March.

In late September, the office admitted its fault in recommending that the advocates needed 41,776 signatures, when they only needed 29,730 signatures. “…We are a whole new election team, and we have undertaken a comprehensive review of the initiative process in recent months, primarily due to an initiative currently filed with our office,” the office stated in an email, according to the Pinedale Roundup.

Wyoming NORML executive director Bennett Sondeno responded quickly to the statement, challenging the office’s process. “The people of Wyoming have the constitutional right to petition their government. The cannabis petitions should have been treated the same as the party affiliation initiative,” Sondeno said. “Secretary Gray and his ‘new’ team should have provided the same deference and professionalism to the cannabis petition. Why did they not undertake a ‘comprehensive review of the initiative process’ while there was a pending initiative on the table? Their behavior deprived Wyomingites of their rights,” said.

Historically, efforts for cannabis bills in Wyoming have been met with little support. Wyoming NORML attempted to get a medical cannabis initiative onto the ballot in 2016, but advocates only managed to collect 13,000 signatures, according to NORML Executive Director Bennett Sondeno. “It was pretty bleak,” he explained. Another attempt was made when collecting signatures in January 2022 for the 2022 ballot, but were unable to collect enough signatures back then as well.

The silver lining of the situation is that advocates did collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot once, and they can do it again. “Either way, this fight is not over. Patients, veterans and Wyoming families succeeded at collecting the signatures. This measure will be law no matter how hard they try to refuse our rights,” advocate Marshall Burt said.

In order for the two cannabis initiatives to still be on the ballot for 2024, it would require them to re-collect signatures from scratch before the legislative session begins. Sondeno called this “unrealistic,” and that it’s not enough time, and more difficult to collect signatures once winter has begun. Additionally, he estimated that it would cost advocacy groups $350,000 to collect enough signatures.

Both Sondeno and Oquirrh Mountain Strategies campaign consultant, Apollo Pazell, are hoping to see if they can have the deadline extended. “It was basically the entire process that was really convoluted and confused,” said Pazell. “I think this will be the first time that I’m saying this, but I think it’s something that legislators should look at.”

In Wyoming, ballot initiatives require a 15% signature count in two-thirds of the state’s counties, which according to the Casper Star Tribune, is the highest requirement in the country. Once advocates receive a petition form from the state, they have 18 months to collect enough signatures, which must be submitted before the start of the legislative session of the same year. In this case, before the legislative session begins in February 2024.

Cannabis bills have not made much headway in the Wyoming legislature in the past. House Bill 0106 was introduced in February 2022 with the intention of decriminalizing small amounts of cannabis but no further actions were taken to discuss or consider it.

Wyoming belongs to a small group of states that do not currently have legal medical cannabis, including Idaho, Kansas, and South Carolina. In addition to this, states such as Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Texas all have limited allowances for medical cannabis, but restrict its use to CBD only.

However, advocacy efforts are higher in some of these states, including Kentucky, whose governor has kept progress moving for medical cannabis accessibility. In March, Gov. Andy Beshear signed a medical cannabis bill and became the 38th state to legalize it, but it won’t take effect until January 2025.

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In Pennsylvania’s second-largest city, advocates are busy working to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Last month, two lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 846 to legalize adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania. The bill currently waits for review from the Senate Law and Justice Committee for further deliberation. Next Pittsburgh reports that advocates at a local Pittsburgh branch of NORML are gearing up for legalization efforts in the state.

“This is a much bigger issue than just cannabis—it’s about giving people the right to be able to find health and wellness in the way that they want to and to not have to feel like the government will tell them how they’re allowed to heal,” says Gina Vensel, a cannabis educator and advocate in the area. Vensel is also on the executive committee of Pittsburgh NORML, the Pittsburgh branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

SB 846 is a bipartisan effort and was spearheaded by Sens. Daniel Laughlin and Sharif Street. The bill would establish a Cannabis Regulatory Control Board, and allow adults 21 and over to purchase cannabis from retail locations. It would additionally allow medical cannabis cardholders to grow cannabis at home. Lastly it would expunge nonviolent cannabis-related convictions.

“Legalized adult use of marijuana is supported by an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians and this legislation accomplishes that while also ensuring safety and social equity,” Laughlin said in a statement. “With neighboring states New Jersey and New York implementing adult use, we have a duty to Pennsylvania taxpayers to legalize adult use marijuana to avoid losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars of new tax revenue and thousands of new jobs.”

Problems Remain in Pittsburgh

High Times reported in 2018 that Solevo Wellness was the city’s first medical dispensary, and is the fourth operating medical cannabis dispensary in the entire state of Pennsylvania. The process of establishing, licensing, and opening Solevo Wellness took about 18 months. The company credits much of their success in obtaining the proper permits to their hired industry consultant, Sara Gullickson.

Pittsburgh, located in Allegheny County, decriminalized cannabis in 2015. Part of the policy shift involved giving law enforcement a choice between arresting people for suspected cannabis offenses or simply giving them a citation. Further downstream the criminal legal system, prosecutors in Pennsylvania’s major cities enacted “decline to prosecute” policies for minor cannabis cases that went to trial.

Despite decriminalization locally, arrests for cannabis increased since Pittsburgh enacted decriminalization policies. Many officers at police departments are having a hard time letting go of the old policy, continuing to arrest rather than ticket suspected offenders.

 Analyzing all the criminal dockets filed in Allegheny County from 2016 to 2017, The Appeal broke down the 2,100-some cases where the top charge was possession of less than 30 grams of cannabis. They also looked at the thousands of arrests for minor possession police made over the same period.

Of the 2,100-plus cannabis-related cases in Allegheny County where the defendant received a misdemeanor possession charge, 51 percent of the people charged were Black. According to the most recent U.S. census data from 2017, 13.4 percent of all Allegheny residents are Black. And the dramatic racial disparity across the county is even more acute in Pittsburgh: Black people were charged in more than 400 of the 600 cases filed by the Pittsburgh Police Department. Black people comprised two-thirds of all cannabis cases in the city, despite representing just 24.3 percent of the city’s population. In other words, Pittsburgh police charged Black people for cannabis twice as much as white people.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Decriminalization

On a few notable occasions, Pittsburgh Pirate games provided a stage for decriminalization efforts and awareness.

Wiz Khalifa, a Pittsburgh native, is an advocate for both cannabis and psilocybin. He tossed the ceremonial first pitch on Monday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, prior to a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Guardians. “Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game,” he tweeted, before following it up with more specifics. “Shroomed out throwin a baseball is crazy,” Wiz said in another tweet moments later.

Former Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis pulled off a pitch on acid as well on June 12, 1970. 

It was on that day that Ellis reputedly threw a no-hitter while tripping on LSD. 

“According to Ellis (and, it should be noted, all of this is according to Ellis), he went to visit a friend in Los Angeles the day before his start, took some acid and stayed up late into the night drinking and doing drugs, subsequently losing track of which day it was,” Sports Illustrated wrote in 2017. “The day of his start, he woke up and, thinking he was supposed to pitch the next day, took another hit of acid at noon, only to learn two hours later from his friend that he was, in fact, supposed to be on the mound against the Padres that evening in San Diego. Ellis got on a plane an hour later and made it to the park 90 minutes before first pitch.”

For the time being, advocates in the city remain busy at work.

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A bipartisan pair of U.S. lawmakers last week introduced legislation to ease federal employment restrictions on cannabis use that deny employment opportunities for past and current marijuana users. The bill, titled the Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act, was introduced on July 27 by Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina who has been an outspoken supporter of federal cannabis policy reform.

“Every year, qualified and dedicated individuals seeking to serve our country are unable to secure federal jobs and security clearances because the federal government has not caught up with the widely established legal use of medical and recreational cannabis,” Raskin said in a statement on Friday. “I am proud to partner with my friend Representative Mace to introduce the bipartisan CURE Act that will eliminate the draconian, failed and obsolete marijuana policies that prevent talented individuals from becoming honorable public servants in their own government.”

If passed, the CURE Act would prevent past or current marijuana use from being the basis for an applicant being found unsuitable for federal employment or the denial of a security clearance for federal workers. The legislation would also be applied retroactively, allowing workers or applicants who have been denied employment or a security clearance to appeal such denials.

“For too long, the federal government has been denying Americans civil service opportunities solely because of its outdated attitudes toward cannabis and those who consume it,” said Morgan Fox, political director at the cannabis policy reform group the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “Denying these millions of Americans consideration for employment and security clearances is discriminatory and it unnecessarily shrinks the talent pool available for these important jobs. NORML commends the sponsors for working to undo this policy and replace it with fair and sensible hiring and clearance practices that will put America on much stronger footing on the global stage.”

Bill Endorsed By Justice Groups

The CURE Act has been endorsed by justice reform advocates and cannabis industry groups including the Drug Policy Alliance, the Due Process Institute, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), NORML and the U.S. Cannabis Council.

“Millions of patriotic, conscientious Americans use cannabis legally each year, but they are consistently penalized by outdated federal regulations,” said Ed Conklin, executive director of the U.S. Cannabis Council. “We strongly support the CURE Act because it will bring federal employment policies into line with the views of most Americans. Cannabis use should never prevent a qualified candidate from serving his or her country as a federal employee.”

The bipartisan bill is not the first effort to ease employment discrimination against cannabis users seeking a job with the federal government. In 2021, the federal Office of Personnel Management, an agency that sets “suitability” standards to determine whether an individual is fit to serve in a federal position, issued new guidance to clarify that past marijuana use should not automatically disqualify applicants or appointees from most U.S. government jobs. However, the agency emphasized that marijuana is still considered a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Additionally, the Drug-Free Workplace executive order of 1986 requires federal employees to refrain from using illegal drugs at all times.

“An individual’s disregard of federal law pertaining to marijuana while employed by the federal government remains relevant and may lead to disciplinary action,” the OPM wrote in the 2021 memo. “It is important to note that it is also the policy of the federal government to offer appropriate prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs and services for federal civilian employees with drug problems.”

Also in 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which sets security standards for access to classified information, issued new guidance to clarify that past marijuana use should not be the sole reason someone is denied a security clearance. The guidance stresses that the illegal use of any controlled substances “can raise security concerns about an individual’s reliability and trustworthiness to access classified information or to hold a sensitive position, as well as their ability or willingness to comply with laws, rules, and regulations.”

However, the guidelines also instruct agencies that prior recreational marijuana use by an individual “may be relevant to adjudications but not determinative” in issuing a security clearance. The guidance references a 2017 security directive that tells agencies to apply the “whole person concept” to the decision for granting a security clearance.

“There are many talented and dedicated people who have used cannabis and want to serve their country,” said Terry Blevins, a former civilian investigator for the Department of Defense, Arizona police sergeant, and LEAP board member. “Compromising recruitment by our federal agencies with antiquated cannabis laws makes our nation less safe in the face of security threats we face globally.”

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New data shows a potential problem with vaping THC-O acetate, and the reasons are worthy of concern. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) branch in California, Cal NORML, issued a warning on Jan. 9 about a study that shows a significant risk for people who vape products containing THC-O acetate.

First published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology on Dec. 12, 2022, a team of researchers led by Neal L. Benowitz discovered a link between THC-O acetate and significant danger to the lungs. THC-O acetate shares structural similarities with vitamin-E acetate—an additive that becomes dangerous to the lungs when converted by heat.

According to the California Department of Public Health, the 2019-20 outbreak of EVALI lung disease sickened and hospitalized 249 Californians—five of them fatally. On Nov. 15, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that vitamin E acetate is the likely culprit for EVALI. Vitamin E acetate also produces carcinogens such as alkenes and benzene when heated.

When heated in a vape pen, both substances—vitamin E acetate and THC-O Acetate—produce ketene, a “highly potent lung toxicant.”  

“We put out the press release specifically because of a study showing that vaporizing vitamin E acetate was similar to THC-O acetate,” Cal NORML Director Dale Gieringer told High Times.

 “Apparently when heated up, it produces a serious lung toxin called ketene.”

As cannabis consumers, we often have to filter through anti-cannabis hysteria, but certain risks hold weight when products aren’t regulated properly. Usually vaping dangers arise when random thickeners and unvetted compounds are added.

Gieringer added, “We have a lot of concerns about some of these other new cannabinoids that are being synthesized from hemp, which are brand new and never been tested in human subjects before. Some of them are advertised as being way more potent than THC. THC-O acetate is being advertised as three times more potent than delta-9. THCP is being advertised as having 30 times the binding power to receptors as THC. That kind of reaction sets off a lot of concerns with us. 

“These compounds have never been found in nature before—being made by fairly amateurish underground hemp chemists—raise a lot of concern.”

Gieringer added that delta-8 THC isn’t his primary concern, given there is slightly more known about the compound, but it’s contaminants and other new cannabinoids he’s most worried about, mostly due to the unknowns: THCP, THCjd. THC-H, THC-B, HHC, and Delta-10 THC. 

Cal NORML reports that the sale of psychoactive hemp derivatives was recently deemed legal under federal law by a Ninth Circuit Court decision (AK Futures v. Boyd Street Distro). That’s up for debate though, given that synthetic cannabinoids can be considered illegal under the Federal Analogue Act. 

Under the 2018 federal Farm Bill, cannabis with less that 0.3% THC is legal to grow, and its products can be sold nationally, but the THC often exceeds the limit regardless.

California’s industrial hemp law, which is overseen by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), currently disallows the sale of hemp products with active cannabinoids other than CBD.

THC-O acetate begins as hemp-derived CBD and goes through a chemical process. Going beyond how cannabinoids like delta-8 THC are processed from CBD, acetic anhydride is added to the mixture, making it an acetate.

THC-O is believed to be three times as potent as delta-9 THC—the naturally occurring cannabinoid most of us are used to.

“Cal NORML strongly advises consumers to avoid hemp products with psychoactive cannabinoids, especially novel ones stronger than THC, whose safety is particularly suspect. CBD products may be safely obtained from state-registered industrial hemp product manufacturers, whose products must be tested for safety and cannabinoid content,” the release reads. “Under state law, hemp products should have a batch number and a label, website, QR code or barcode linking to the laboratory test results that state the levels of cannabinoids, total THC, and presence of contaminants, as well as the address and phone number of the manufacturer. Violations can be reported to CDPH.

Cal NORML adds that the less common cannabinoids that are deemed safe for human use are CBN, CBG, CBC, THCV, THC-A, CBD-A, and Delta-8 THC.

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NORML recently announced that according to a PubMed.gov keyword search, there were more than 4,300 scientific research papers published about cannabis in 2022. In 2021, there were an estimated 4,200 papers published; over the last 12 years, more than 30,000 research papers have now been published; and in total, there are approximately 42,500 scientific papers exploring cannabis.

While it’s common to hear opponents of cannabis state that more research is necessary before legalization can occur, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano released a statement to counter that argument. “Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” Armentano said. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”

NORML compiled numerous scientific studies involving cannabis between 2000-2021, exploring findings from studies on a wide variety of medical conditions such as chronic pain, Huntington Disease, insomnia, Multiple Sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and so much more. The review analyzes the evolution of researcher’s scope of cannabis. “As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has proliferated so too has investigators’ understanding of cannabis’ remarkable capacity to combat disease,” NORML wrote. “Whereas researchers in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s primarily assessed marijuana’s ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms—such as the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy—scientists today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to modulate disease.”

Even recently, the scientific community has released many intriguing cannabis studies in recent months. One recent study published in the Journal of Sleep Research found that cannabis was an effective treatment for insomnia, with researchers stating that participants experienced an 80% increase in sleep quality, and 60% were no longer classified as clinical insomnias following the end of the two-week study. Another study found evidence that cannabis has “uniquely beneficial effects” on those with bipolar disorder, while one found a link between cannabis consumption and physical activity in HIV+ patients. And there are many more studies underway, such as King’s College London which recently launched a massive 6,000-person study in September, with a goal of publishing early results in 2023 or 2024.

Cannabis is more mainstream than it has ever been before. President Joe Biden’s recent monumental signing of the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act which “establishes a new registration process for conducting research on marijuana and for manufacturing marijuana products for research purposes and drug development.” Biden also signed an infrastructure bill in 2021, which contained provisions for cannabis. It states that in two years, the Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human Services must submit a report that addresses how researchers can receive increased samples of various strains, establishing a “national clearinghouse” that will help researchers better distribute cannabis products for research, and an increased amount of samples for researchers who don’t live in states with medical or adult-use cannabis legalization. 

On the side, studies exploring the benefits of other psychedelic substances are also rising. One study in the journal Psychopharmacology found evidence that psilocybin can treat those with autism spectrum disorder. The University College of London released the results of a recent study as well, which analyzed brain imaging of consumers who attended psychedelic retreats. Another from the University of Melbourne explored how ayahuasca benefits outweigh the risks.

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The House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties announced on Nov. 8 that on Nov. 15 it would be holding a hearing to discuss cannabis legalization. The hearing’s official title was “Developments in State Cannabis Laws and Bipartisan Cannabis Reforms at the Federal Level,” and a joint memo was published on Nov. 12 to lay out the talking points of the discussion.

The hearing was led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (Chairman of the Subcommittee) and Rep. Nancy Mace (Ranking Member of the Subcommittee), and accompanied by questions from Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rep. Peter Anderson Sessions of Texas, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, Rep. Brian Higgins of New York, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the District of Columbia), Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, and Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois.

Witness speakers included Randal Woodfin (Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama), Paul Armentano (Deputy Director of NORML), Andrew Freedman (Executive Director of Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation [CPEAR]), Eric Goepel (Founder and CEO of Veterans Cannabis Coalition), Keeda Haynes (Senior Legal Advisor of Free Hearts, who connected remotely), Amber Littlejohn (Senior Policy Advisor of Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce, and Jillian Snider (Policy Director of Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties).

The discussion covered a wide variety of facts revolving around cannabis legalization, the failed War on Drugs, how Biden’s October announcement to pardon federal cannabis convictions requires state action to help people, the treatment of veterans who seek relief with cannabis, the potential of hemp as a building material (and the legal challenges connected to this).

NORML’s Armentano provided many powerful facts and statements regarding legalization and how the cannabis industry has affected black and brown people. “By descheduling cannabis, tens of millions of Americans who reside in states where cannabis is legal in some form, as well as the hundreds of thousands of people who work for the state-licensed industry that services them, will no longer face needless hurdles and discrimination—such as a lack of access to financial services, loans, insurance, 2nd Amendment rights, tax deductions, certain professional security clearances, and other privileges,” Armentano said.

R Street Institute’s Snider added that the country’s approach to legalization is messy due to the varied levels of regulation. “Proposed federal legislation indicates increased support for alternatives to federal cannabis prohibition, and this increased support is critical to provide clarity on the overall legal status of cannabis, as the current situation presents inconsistency and a quasi-legal conundrum,” Snider said. “The substance may be legal in one state and decriminalized in another, but because it is still prohibited at the federal level, users or possessors of the substance are subject to criminal penalty.”

Toward the later portion of the hearing, Raskin asked Armentano about his hope that Congress can come together to make legalization a reality. “So Mr. Armentano, do you think Congress can catch up with where a majority of the states are now in terms of medical marijuana and decriminalization and legalization, as [Mayor Woodfin] said. Do you think Congress will actually be able to do it? I know this hearing is a promising sign, but what do you think are the chances of actually doing this, in this session of congress or the next?”

Armentano replied, explaining that historically prohibition has never worked, whether you examine the history of alcohol prohibition, or that of cannabis. “Well my business card doesn’t say prognosticator, but one would hope that members of congress see the need to act swiftly,” Armentano explained. “Look, to use your analogy with alcohol prohibition, the federal government got out of the alcohol prohibition business when 10 states chose to go down a different path. The majority of U.S. states have now chosen to go down a different path with cannabis and is untenable to keep this chasm going between where the states are on this policy and where the federal government is. At the end of the day the federal government needs to come to a way to comport federal policy with state policy, and that’s by descheduling.”

Mace and Raskin provided conclusory statements based on what they heard during the hearing, and what they hope it will lead to in the very near future.

Mace condemned an earlier reference comparing cannabis to slavery. She addressed data that shows how black and brown people are four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis, and that its up to congress on both sides to address this issue. “I’m from South Carolina where the difference between rich and poor is often black and white, and cannabis is an area where we can work together on both sides of the aisle to prohibit more of those inequities from happening across our country and right the wrongs that have been going on for decades now,” Mace said. “And I would encourage my colleagues, Republican and Democrat on both sides of the aisle, to get on board with this issue. The American people are asking for it. Seventy percent of Americans support medical cannabis. Half, or more than half, support adult or recreational use across the country, whether they come from the red state of South Carolina to the blue state of California. East coast to west coast. Americans from all communities, all colors, all ages, support this issue. The only place it is controversial is here in the halls of the capital, and it’s wrong.”

Chairman Raskin concluded the hearing with his own statement, addressing the need for action from Congress. “Congress needs to catch up, and that’s what this hearing is about and that’s what I’ve learned today. If we knew our history better, if we all took the time to read into prohibition, we would see that America has been through this before. And it’s not that alcohol is like birthday cake, it’s not. We lose more than 100,000 people a year to alcohol-related illnesses, to alcohol-related fatalities on the highways, that needs to be regulated,” Raskin said.

“But the country had its experience with trying to criminalize alcohol. It didn’t work, and it caused much more severe problems and we know that is precisely the history we’re living through today, again, with marijuana, it needs to be regulated, it needs to be carefully controlled, but we should not be throwing people into prison for any period of time for one day because they smoke marijuana. It makes no sense. We should not be ruining people’s lives over this. I think the country has made its judgment, it’s time for Congress to catch up.”

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