Medical Cannabis Laws & Advocacy

Advocacy

ACS is a medical cannabis advocacy group that strives to educate lawmakers and advocate for patient rights. Here you will find a collection of cannabis advocacy position papers and specific guidance from the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists.

Our Foundational Document:

A Federal Framework of Regulation for Medical Cannabis Use

While a patchwork of state cannabis laws exists, the lack of a unified, federal framework regulating medical cannabis places patients at risk, and undermines the relationships that doctors must maintain to ensure an effective and safe treatment paradigm.

Such a framework is both overdue and sorely needed for safe, optimized care of patients across the country.

Position Papers:


	Observational Data Are Valuable—but Randomized Controlled Trials Remain Essential in Cannabinoid Medicine The clinical use of cannabinoid-based therapies has accelerated dramatically over the past decade, supported by extensive observational research, patient registries, and clinical anecdotes. While real-world data are an important pillar of medical knowledge, RCTs remain uniquely capable of addressing key questions that observational studies cannot.
	Recommendation to Change the Term Adult-Use to Non-medical Use Association of Cannabinoid Specialists (ACS) proposes that the term “adult-use” be changed to “non-medical use” in all communication, laws, and regulation.
	ACS Comment to DEA Rescheduling Rule ACS welcomes the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) proposal to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III.
	ACS Expectations of CME Requirements for Cannabis Specialists Cannabis Specialists (MD, DO, NP, or PA if authorized by each state program) must keep up to date on the emerging data in the field.
	ACS Guidance for Dispensaries The ACS believes that cannabis dispensaries play a vital role in providing care and products to patients.
	Why A Medical Cannabis System Is More Important Than Ever Now that recreational cannabis is rolling out in Massachusetts, why do we need a medical cannabis system anymore?
	ACS Guidance on Driving as a Medical Cannabis Patient Many medications, like benzodiazepines, opioids, and antibiotics can lead to impairment.
	Prescription Vs. Recommendation Since the inception of medical cannabis legalization in California in 1996, physicians have only been able to write a “recommendation”.
	Association of Cannabinoid Specialists’ Position on Medical Use of Cannabinoids as Applied to Special Groups Medical treatment is a fundamental human right. This right must not be subject to any infringement due to race, gender, income, citizenship, or status as convict or parolee.

Specific Guidance:


	ACS Calls on FDA to do More Than Send Warning Letters to Cannabis Companies Who Violate the Law and Public Trust Recently the FDA has sent a warning letter to a California company for marketing an injectable CBD product. As reported via a variety of outlets, FDA cited multiple legal infractions and gave the company 15 days to comply with all laws and regulations. Further legal action, of any unspecified nature, was implied in the letter if compliance was not ensured by the due date.
	ACS Response to Congressional RFI on Regulation of CBD and Derivatives Recently ACS was asked to provide a response to the request for information from Congress with regard to regulation of CBD and derivatives.
	ACS and ASA Comments on Senator Schumer’s Cannabis Opportunity and Administration Act The below signed stakeholders are collectively parties that have an interest in or work with medical cannabis.
	ACS and MSNJ Letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland Subsequent to the letter sent to you requesting that you exercise your authority under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA), we write to support the request and to support your pragmatic efforts to do so.
	ACS Letter To ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta Congratulations on the confirmation as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
	ACS Takes Issue with Wall Street Journal Advertisement We write to you to express a concern over a recent ½ page advertisement in the Journal.
	ACS Guidance to CDC on Pain Management The Association of Cannabis Specialists would like to offer the following comments on the topic of acute and chronic pain management, per the CDC’s request.
	ACS – MCRAA Joint Comments on FDA Proposed Research Guidelines The MCRAA appreciates the opportunity to provide comments in response to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Compounds: Quality Considerations for Clinical Research Draft Guidance for Industry.
	ACS Joint Amicus Brief to Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The amici submitting this brief are concerned by the 52nd Judicial District's ("the District") probation supervision policy prohibiting medical marijuana use which is otherwise permitted by Pennsylvania law.
	ACS Response to Oil (Vape) Pen Ban The currently posed question of when or whether the embargoed oil cartridges can be released for sale has at least two separate issues embedded.
	ACS Response to JAMA article entitled Most Doctors Know Nothing About Cannabis In an editorial in JAMA, Dr. Nathaniel Morris laments that even in California, no medical education on cannabis was provided to him during medical school or residency.
	ACS Guidance to Massachusetts on Veteran Care Despite vocal advocacy by a few veterans, this bill is not in the interests of veterans or other patients.
	ACS Guidance to Hawai'i on Anxiety Treatment I write to you to support the petitions before you to include anxiety, depression, and insomnia as qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment in Hawai’i.

We also agree with the position for the following groups:

American Heart Association Statement on Cannabis

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Statement on Cannabis During Pregnancy and Lactation