What is HR 3884?
On July 23, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives, introduced HR 3884, a historic piece of legislation that, if enacted, will revolutionize the cannabis industry. First, it will decriminalize and de-schedule cannabis (a.k.a., marijuana, for those using it recreationally), moving it from a Schedule I drug under the 1970 Controlled Substance Act (CSA), to a non-scheduled substance (meaning that cannabis does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule).
Secondly, the bill provides for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, and from a social point of view, the legislation will provide for the expungement of certain cannabis (recreationally considered, marijuana) offenses. What a gift it would be for the criminal records of hundreds of thousands of citizens, whose lives have been radically altered by a marijuana conviction, to be erased forever. The bill also requires confidential demographic data collection from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for business owners and those employed by the cannabis industry.
Additionally, HR 3884 creates an Opportunity Trust Fund, the revenues of which are funded by a five percent Federal tax imposed upon all cannabis sales, with medical marijuana and hemp sales exempt. The tax revenues will be split 60:40 through funding of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019. The bill also establishes Opportunity Trust Fund Programs through the Cannabis Justice Office. HR 3884 also initiates a Community Reinvestment Grant Program that provides eligible entities with funds to administer services for individuals most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.
As currently written, HR 3884 also provides for the creation of the Cannabis Opportunity Program, administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) that will assist small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Another funding source for qualifying individuals is the Equitable Licensing Grant Program. There are several non-discriminatory clauses throughout numerous SBA programs to prevent discrimination based upon being an owner or employee of a cannabis -related business.
As a physician and medical cannabis advocate, of all the progressive items addressed in HR 3884, the biggest item from my perspective is the re-scheduling of cannabis from a Schedule I substance to one that is non-scheduled. Obviously, having one’s marijuana conviction(s) expunged is tremendous social progress, and quite meaningful to the aggrieved individuals, but re-scheduling cannabis offers the country an opportunity to fearlessly seek out the truth regarding the science of the plant. The prospect of cannabis being removed from the list of Schedule I substances is critical for medical science to freely and appropriately study the full effects of cannabis on humans. In a recent paper addressing the various governmental impediments to cannabis research, the most onerous and cumbersome regulatory barrier placed on cannabis researchers is the plant being listed as a Schedule I substance by the FDA.
In addition to cannabis, the CSA Schedule I designation has effectively limited all basic and medical research on a number of other naturally occurring compounds (psychedelics) that have shown clinical promise such as peyote, psilocybin, and mescaline. The research that has been done, led in large part by the efforts of Ronald Doblin and his organization, the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Science (MAPS), has shown that psychedelics have shown profound efficacy in the treatment of an array of debilitating mental health disorders as severe depression, PTSD, and addiction disorders. In his recent bestseller, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, Michael Pollan details the history and recent science that begs western medicine and politicians to re-examine the profound healing power of psychedelic compounds.
Arguably, cannabis is the most misunderstood plant on the planet. It’s been conservatively estimated that a third of Americans have used cannabis as a medicine, or recreationally. In the current political and social climate, cannabis laws across the United States will continue to be relaxed, and full legalization of cannabis will continue to gain momentum. With this understanding, why wouldn’t the US government want to have solid and independent scientific data to base its decisions regarding the true risks and benefits of cannabis use?
Until the Schedule I designation is removed, the onerous restrictions that hamper cannabis research will continue. As an example of the Schedule I regulatory nightmare facing researchers, before any research on cannabis can be conducted scientists must gain the necessary permitting and regulatory approvals. All cannabis and cannabinoid research must undergo this type of federal Draconian review before the science may be conducted. The governmental approval process is daunting, to say the least.
Depending on the state, investigators must chart a prescribed course for each study for which they request permission. The designated regulatory review process involves the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), institutional review boards at the particular college or university, departments in state government, state boards of medical examiners, the researcher’s home institution, and potential funders. What is absurd is that this type of egregious regulation is required to study a plant that is magnitudes safer than tobacco or alcohol.
Additionally, researchers performing experiments with all Schedule I substances must also submit a research protocol to the DEA that includes details regarding security precautions for storing and dispensing the substance(s). One of the DEA requirements for cannabis research is that the researcher having a safe, steel cabinet, or a vault, and limiting access to the substance to the absolute minimum number of specifically authorized employees.
50 years after the implementation of the CSA, what is clear is the myth that the CSA was instituted to protect Americans from the scourge of drug abuse and addiction. The CSA scheduling system lists potential drugs of abuse from the safest drugs for potential abuse, listed as Schedule V substances, to those substances deemed to be the most dangerous, Schedule I drugs. The FDA defines Schedule I drugs as having: 1) high potential for abuse, 2) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and 3) a lack of accepted safety for their use under medical supervision. Clearly, from the FDA definition of Schedule I substances, cannabis has been mislabeled.
In 2019, the opiate crisis was a shocking and evolving front-page story. Yet, despite the recent distraction of COVID-19, Schedule II substances (deemed less dangerous and with better medical efficacy than Schedule I substances), such as prescription opiates, kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. In 2019, over 70, 000 Americans died from opiate overdoses, and most of these overdoses were the result of legitimate, physician-approved prescription drug use. For whatever value the CSA maintains in modern American culture, the CSA certainly isn’t about public safety or improving public health, because if it was, cannabis (as well as the assorted naturally occurring psychedelics, like psilocybin) would not be regarded as such dangerous substances.
The only way for cannabis to be unshackled socially, economically, and politically is to de-schedule it. PERIOD.
Although there may be problems with some aspects of HR 3884, passage of the bill, and finally to the President’s desk for signing is the most progressive and efficient way of ending the remnants of cannabis prohibition since the 1937 marijuana act. Unfortunately, congress tabled voting on HR 3884 until after the November general election, suggesting that nefarious political interests continue to shackle real national cannabis reform.
Please call your House representative. Tell them this is an important issue for you and for the country and ask them to support HR 3884.
And the biggest impact you can have on this issue is to VOTE!
References:
1) Challenges and Barriers in Conducting Cannabis Research. 2017. Chapter 15 from The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids. National Academies Press. Washington (DC)
2) Legal and Regulatory Issues Governing Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Products in the United States. Alice Mead. Front. Plant Sci. 2019; 10: 697. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6590107/
3) https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/08/12/psilocybin-trial-ptsd-veterans/#7ab1e0914601