Reading the tea leaves: getting a grasp on where federal policy toward medical cannabis is heading lately has been as much a game for seers and soothsayers as much as expert analysts and experienced advocates given all the shifting signals. Below are links to two articles on the situation…..

From the first:

“…the lack of news surrounding medical cannabis has been, for the most part, good news for the status quo. However, this is not a comfort to patients for whom behind the scenes actions could upend, disrupt, or delay access to their medication.

As we have already seen, priorities can abruptly shift at any time. One day Attorney General Sessions is renewing the “War on Drugs”, the next there are rumors of him being replaced.

No news regarding the Cole Memo has certainly been good news because it sets up a workable framework that balances the interests of patients and federal enforcement priorities.

While [this] may be viewed as a positive, the lack of news on solutions to America’s opioid crisis has been unsettling. Every day 91 deaths occur due to opioid-related causes. Save for assembling the Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission, chaired by Gov. Chris Christie, no solutions to combat opioid addiction and deaths have been proposed.

The commission is tasked with providing recommendations in a report in October 2017. Waiting until October means another estimated 16,926 individuals will die before we even begin talking about this crisis on a federal level.

http://ift.tt/2qlGxhD

From the second:

“A little-noticed document issued by President Trump has put advocates of medical marijuana on edge, raising questions about the long-term security of [existing MC} programs with broad public backing.

In a ‘signing statement’ that accompanied Trump’s signature on the bill passed this month to keep the government open, the president noted a handful of objections on legal grounds. One was to a provision that prohibits his administration from interfering with state-run medical marijuana programs.

Aides indicated that none of Trump’s objections to Congress’s work signaled immediate policy changes. But given how vocal Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been in opposition to relaxing marijuana restrictions, those who support the burgeoning industry are worried about what could come next.

‘It just creates a lot of uncertainty, and that uncertainty is deeply concerning for patients and providers,’ said Michael Collins, deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance.”

http://ift.tt/2qssqWs

Much more in both articles….

#MMJ #USpol #UTpol #GetSerious #TRUCE    

See full article – Medical cannabis under Trump’s first 100 days