US President Joe Biden has officially signed a marijuana research bill into law, making history by enacting the first standalone federal cannabis reform legislation in US history, reports High Times.
The law, called the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, “establishes a new registration process for conducting research on marijuana and for manufacturing marijuana products for research purposes and drug development,” according to a press release from the White House.
Despite medical marijuana is ubiquitous throughout the country, cannabis remains illegal on the federal level, which has hindered research opportunities in the field. The newly signed bill aims to change that. It passed the United States Senate in November with bipartisan support after it won approval in the U.S. House of Representatives with the Democratic and Republican votes in July.
It is the byproduct of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, which celebrated Biden’s signing of the bill on 2 December. The group of lawmakers called the measure as “the first standalone federal marijuana reform law enacted since the adoption of the Controlled Substances Act in 1971.”
“For decades, the federal government has stood in the way of science and progress—peddling a misguided and discriminatory approach to cannabis. Today marks a monumental step in remedying our federal cannabis laws. The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act will make it easier to study the impacts and potential of cannabis,” Cannabis Caucus Co-Chairs Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Dave Joyce (R-OH), and Brian Mast (R-FL) said in a joint statement following Biden’s signing.
This is the second action Biden has taken on federal marijuana policy in the last two months. In October, the president announced pardons for people previously convicted of simple marijuana-related offences under federal law.
In addition, Biden also signalled his desire to move towards federal decriminalisation, saying he has directed cabinet officials to reclassify marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, which establishes federal prohibition.