Polls consistently show the vast majority of Americans support allowing seriously ill patients to use cannabis for medical purposes with their doctors’ approval. The FDA and DEA have proposed rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III, which would acknowledge it has currently accepted medical use. But rescheduling would not make cannabis preparations an FDA-approved drug.
Because Congress has failed to make medical cannabis legal — despite ample evidence of its safety and efficacy — states have enacted their own laws to protect patients. Thirty-nine states and Washington, D.C. now have workable medical cannabis laws on the books. Ten additional states have laws on the books that acknowledge the medical value of medical cannabis but fall short.
Below you will find a wealth of materials to educate you about medical cannabis issues, including information to make the case for allowing medical cannabis — such as summaries of studies, lists of supportive organizations, state-by-state polling, and rebuttals to common concerns. You will also find summaries of various aspects of both comprehensive laws and low-THC laws, financial information for medical cannabis states, and information on the federal government’s current policy toward both state and federal cannabis laws.
Note: Some of these materials have not yet been updated for the 39th medical cannabis state — Nebraska — where voters approved companion medical cannabis measures on November 5, 2024.
