White House Drug Czar Recognizes Medical Value Of Marijuana And Says Biden Admin Remains Committed To Cannabis Reform
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The White House drug czar on Monday recognized the therapeutic potential of marijuana in pain treatment and said that the Biden administration has not strayed from its support for incremental reforms such as descheduling cannabis. He added that the president believes existing federal marijuana policies “have not worked.” He also responded to a question about how Biden’s annual budget proposals have maintained a rider blocking Washington, D.C. from legalizing commercial marijuana sales in the nation’s capital, despite his campaign pledge to respect state autonomy to set their own cannabis policies, placing the onus on Congress to enact a policy change. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Rahul Gupta fielded a series of cannabis-related questions during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Monday. While the administration has faced criticism for failing to make good on President Joe Biden’s marijuana reform campaign pledges, Gupta said he is cognizant of the policy issues that prevail under the status quo of federal prohibition. One particularly notable exchange came in response to a question from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who pressed the official on the seeming “contradiction” that marijuana remains a federally banned substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) despite growing evidence that the plant’s constituents can treat chronic pain in a way that is safer than opioids that are less strictly regulated.

“There is evidence to suggest that, in cases of certain chronic pain, cannabis can be efficacious,” Gupta, who previously provided consulting services to a cannabis company prior to serving in the White House, said. Under current statute, ONDCP is prevented from providing funding “for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in Schedule I” under CSA. Yet, one of the key criteria…

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Source : White House Drug Czar Recognizes Medical Value Of Marijuana And Says Biden Admin Remains Committed To Cannabis Reform

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