American Bar Association Resolution Urges Congress to Remove Cannabis from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act
The American Bar Association (“ABA”) is s a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, with over 400,000 members throughout the United States. The ABA often takes stances on legal issues and makes recommendations to law makers on changing existing laws.
Recently, the ABA took an impressively progressive stance on cannabis reform. During the ABA’s annual 2019 meeting in San Francisco, the ABA’s House of Delegates passed a resolution that urges Congress to end the draconian federal laws that have created nothing short of a “regulatory quagmire” for states where cannabis is legal. The ABA’s measure is called Resolution 104. The full text of Resolution 104 can be found here.
Throwing shade at a regulatory quagmire is one thing but ABA went one-step further and actually put together a plan to fix the broken system. Since it was passed into law in 1970, the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) has classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has “no medical use” and is easily abused. The ABA’s proposal consists of three recommendations revolving around removing cannabis from Schedule 1 of the CSA. While the ABA asserts that it neither “endorses nor condemns” cannabis legalization, the resolution would, if enacted, go a long way towards helping the industry grow, legally.
1. Give States the Option to Opt Out of the Controlled Substances Act
At its core, Resolution 104 presents an argument against the validity of the CSA. The first recommendation in Resolution 104 made by the ABA calls for states where cannabis is legal to have the ability to opt out of the CSA. That would render cannabis legal in those states and help to end the current “stalemate” between state law and federal law. As long as people in a legal state comply with state law, they would not be in violation of federal law. The ABA notes that if enacted, the recommendation would also enable businesses to utilize the services of large national banks, which currently refuse to open accounts for cannabis and cannabis-related companies.
2. Either Reclassify or Deschedule Cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act
Alternatively, the related second recommendation made by the ABA in Resolution 104 calls on Congress to either reschedule or completely deschedule cannabis from the CSA. The ABA argues, until that happens, large-scale cannabis research cannot be conducted.
3. Allow More Scientific Research on Cannabis
Due to the marijuana’s current classification as a Schedule 1 drug under the CSA, medical research into the plant has been severely limited. The third and final recommendation made by the ABA in Resolution 104 builds on the second, calling for more scientific research regarding “the efficacy, dose, routes of administration, or side effects of commonly used and commercially available cannabis products.”
Will Resolution 104 Lead to Any Changes?
It is unclear to what degree the American Bar Association resolution will affect cannabis policy in the United States. However, the ABA’s resolution will send a bold message to lawmakers across the Country. When asked about Resolution 104, the president of NORML said, “When the Bar Association gets behind something, for a lot of elected officials, many of whom are lawyers themselves, it gives that position credibility that it wouldn’t otherwise have. That’s certainly true with marijuana policy.”