The American Nurses Association (ANA) has formally weighed in on the potential rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to III.
After direction from President Joe Biden to review how marijuana is scheduled in the USA, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended a change to Schedule III. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which operates under the Department of Justice (DOJ), has final say and is still deliberating. Part of that process has been a public comment period opened in May that resulted in tens of thousands of comments submitted.
Among the many organisations to make a submission is the ANA. Founded in 1896, the ANA has members in all 50 states and U.S. territories, and represents the interests of the USA’s 5 million registered nurses.
The ANA released its official position statement on cannabis back in 2021, indicating its support for the review and reclassification of marijuana’s controlled substance status. Prior to this, ANA had supported providing evidence-based compassionate therapeutic cannabis and advancement of related research since 1996. Last year, the ANA announced its formal recognition of cannabis nursing as a nursing specialty.
In its letter of last week to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the ANA states cannabis meets all requirements of the currently accepted medical use test, justifying reclassification as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
“The proposed reschedule will allow full research into the treatment benefits of cannabis and allow nurses and other health care practitioners to give the best care possible to their patients.”
But the ANA wants the DEA to go further, stating for advancement of public health and therapeutic access, cannabis should ultimately be removed from CSA scheduling altogether.
The ANA says while thirty-eight states have legalized medical cannabis and dozens have legalized recreational use, legal conflicts at the federal level and differences across jurisdictions has left providers and patients in some states “in a constant place of fear when trying to utilize medical benefits.”
“ANA urges the agencies to follow the evidence as more research is finally allowed and funded, and to work with Congress to remove cannabis from CSA scheduling.”
The full ANA submission can be viewed here.
The DEA’s public comment period winds up today and has attracted close to 37,000 submissions.
