The Drug Report
The Drug Report
Behind the Federal Battles Against Marijuana Legalization
Unlock the secrets behind the federal drug policies that shape our nation’s approach to marijuana regulation. Join us as we sit down with Jordan Davidson, head of government affairs at Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), to discuss their strategic initiatives against the federal rescheduling of marijuana. Learn how SAM has effectively rallied influential lawmakers like Senator Mitt Romney to lead the charge on congressional letters and appropriations amendments, ensuring that rescheduling efforts are grounded in rigorous scientific analysis. Discover the pivotal role of report language in guiding agency actions and the impact of coordinated opposition from 18 state attorneys general.
Get an insider’s perspective on the legislative maneuvers that have successfully blocked the legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington DC, including the powerful Andy Harris rider and a decade-long DOJ restriction on state-legal medical marijuana programs. We discuss the significant new exception to enforce the Drug-Free School Zones Act, emphasizing public health and safety backed by compelling data from a University of Michigan survey. Finally, we explore the growing awareness reflected in recent agricultural and FDA appropriations bills, showcasing our collective effort to prioritize the well-being of our communities. Don't miss this comprehensive discussion on SAM's federal drug policy priorities and the critical measures taken to safeguard public health.
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Yes or no? Do you believe nicotine is not addictive?
Speaker 2:I believe nicotine is not addictive. Yes, Congressman, cigarettes and nicotine clearly do not meet the classic definitions of addiction. I don't believe that nicotine for our products are addictive.
Speaker 1:I believe nicotine is not addictive. I believe that nicotine is not addictive. I believe that nicotine is not addictive. Happy Hump Day everyone.
Speaker 1:This is Luke Nifiratis, I'm your host of the TDR podcast and I want to thank our sponsoring organizations, sam, smart Approaches to Marijuana, as well as FDPS, the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions. Between those two organizations, we are covering all of the things going on in drug policy. We're active at the national level, the federal level and the state level, so check us out at those websites learnaboutsamorg and gooddrugpolicyorg. Well, today there's a lot of news, a lot of things going on in the drug policy space, but I really want to talk about what SAM, particularly, is doing on the federal policy front just over these first seven months or so, and so I brought Jordan Davidson, who's been on before our head of government affairs, to chat about this with me, because you know what, sam, it's.
Speaker 1:Our priority to our mission is to advocate for policies and educate the public and decision makers on the best and most evidence-based ways to reduce marijuana use and its consequences. So that is our priority. We are working very hard every day at the federal level and the state level to get this done. I think a lot of people think, you know, sam, they just fight against legalization, and that actually is a very small part, truly, of what we do.
Speaker 1:So much of what we do is focused on regulations. It's focused on policy levers, increasing funding for prevention and treatment and recovery, policies that normalize treatment, prevention and recovery as it relates to marijuana as well as all other drugs, as well as just advancing the ball forward for sensible, smart marijuana policy in state governments and in the federal government. So our plate is obviously stacked high, and so I want to talk a little bit about some of the things we've been working on, what our priorities have been, what we've been able to accomplish, and so, just for our listeners sake, so you can kind of get a sense of the scale of what we're up to. So, jordan, thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Luke, thanks so much for having me on.
Speaker 1:So let's, I guess, kick it off like with marijuana rescheduling. You know what have we been doing at the federal level. Maybe you can talk through some of the things we've gotten done and prioritized over these last you know, several months since the Biden administration and HHS announced this rescheduling notice of proposed rulemaking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean in terms of federal affairs. I think the SAM government affairs team has kind of tried to split up what we've been doing into two buckets. The first bucket is just raising public awareness, making sure that members of Congress, senators, are really engaged on this and showing that they publicly are dismissing the kind of the rescheduling review, the downsides, talking about what's been going on. So just since the beginning of this year, for example, the beginning of this year, for example, we've had not one but four letters on marijuana rescheduling had one from a member of Congress, had one from multiple senators, including being led by Senator Mitt Romney, about kind of the international relations angle of this, which I think we've talked about and it's very interesting. Another from a group of members of Congress and then actually maybe by the time this podcast drops today, we will have another letter that's a bicameral letter led by Senator Lankford and Pete Sessions, and we've got some real powerhouses on that letter talking about the rescheduling review. So raising that kind of public awareness and telling the government you know this is really unacceptable.
Speaker 2:The other bucket that I put kind of our efforts in is the policy levers and the things that we've tried to do. So, as we've discussed on this podcast, the rescheduling review unfortunately wasn't really based on science and wasn't based on proper analysis, and so some members of Congress saw that and we were able to work with them through the appropriations process to get some really solid things in there. So two things related to rescheduling that are in the appropriations process is one in the CJS Commerce, justice and Science Bill a kind of block on the rescheduling really, because it wasn't done properly. This wasn't done as any other drug scheduling would be done.
Speaker 1:So it's an amendment that would block rescheduling from moving forward correct. By defunding their ability to enact that regulation correct.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, precisely, and the second thing that we've done that I'm personally really excited for and kind of as we speak, actually is being cemented in the agriculture FDA is being cemented in the agriculture FDA appropriations bill.
Speaker 2:There is report language. There's like bill language, which is the base text, and then report language directing kind of how agencies should use funding, and in that that came out just yesterday, they told the inspector general to conduct a review of the HHS rescheduling report based on specific things that we've talked about why they used hand-selected comparator drugs, why they deviated from 30 years of precedent in terms of how they analyze currently accepted medical use, tons of different things the five-factor versus two-factor test and I'm really excited to see how that pans out and where that goes. The kind of, I guess, note to put on all this, though, is that this is on the House side, so we have to see what happens in the Senate. This isn't law yet, but I think it's a fantastic start that, in the base text of these bills, we're having these things moving forward and they're making it through committee.
Speaker 1:That's great. And then one thing I'll add, and this isn't technically in the federal policy realm, but it influences this rescheduling decision. We were the central coordinators behind the letter for the 18 attorneys general from 18 different states who submitted a joint letter requesting a hearing on rescheduling with the DEA, which that was a really important letter, and with so many statewide officials across the country signing on to it, something that definitely can't be ignored. So that was, I think, another piece of this that Sam was instrumental in coordinating as well on rescheduling. So thank you, jordan, for the good work on that. Let's let's pan over to hemp. You know there's been a lot of discussion around hemp and what we can do to close the loophole. Sam is really proud to have partnered with CADCA, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, as well as a number of other partners, to do this, and so, jordan, maybe you could talk a little bit about our achievements and what we've been working on there, just because I think it gets lost in so much of the things going on out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. The hemp intoxicants Delta 8 issue is something that we at SAM have been working on for several years and I've been so excited this year to finally start seeing some progress. Folks are probably now all too familiar with the farm Bill the bill that happens every five years. That is now kind of infamous in our space almost, and the Farm Bill was actually was added to the Farm Bill, this Delta 8 ban that Representative Mary Miller put forward. So that was super exciting to see that. That was voted on in committee. It got bipartisan support in the Agriculture Committee earlier this year support in the Agriculture Committee earlier this year. The other thing that we've seen just recently actually it was added into another must-pass bill, that Ag FDA bill that has the Inspector General's report in it. In the base text of that that was included and so now it's in the base text of two must-pass bills, which is very exciting and I think bodes well for its ability to kind of survive, get through the House and hopefully get through the Senate and get signed on the President's desk.
Speaker 1:That's great and so you know that is something that I think you know. Getting our provisions into the base text of bills is something that's very hard to do, something, Sam, you know has been working at for a long time. It's not something you just kind of oh, you know we're going to. You know people get amendments offered all the time and so amendments are a little bit easier to get done. But getting your provision into the base text of a bill indicates just for those of you who aren't familiar with the process and don't follow it indicates that it's something that is going to be much harder to get out. At the end of the day it has to be stricken out when the party leadership in both houses comes together, for example, and conferences on a bill. That really is one of the few places where they could pull it out once it's in the base text. So to get into the place that we've gotten, it is something that I think is extremely exciting.
Speaker 2:And to be clear. So it was an amendment in the Farm Bill but they already kind of laid the groundwork in the base text for it and it got bipartisan support. So I think that was well. But it was in the base text of the AgFTA Bill, of the Appropriations Bill. It was put in there on day one and I think that's really fantastic for us.
Speaker 1:Right, that's wonderful. Um, so, moving on from hemp, let's talk about other kind of broader marijuana things, just kind of miscellaneous things that the government affairs have been up to, and obviously we can't cover everything we've been up to, but I think this is good. We're covering some good ground in terms of the highlights. Uh so, jordan, maybe just kind of fill us in on a few other things that you all have been up to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, you know kind of, I guess, starting with things people are maybe familiar with, that we've been working on and have had success in in one appropriations bill, the Harris Rider, which blocks DC recreational marijuana sales, was stripped out of the base of an appropriations bill even though it's been there for about 10 years, and the Safe Banking Act was added in, and so we had about two weeks of what was essentially trench warfare felt like hand-to-hand combat getting those things resolved and we ended up winning on both items getting the Safe Banking Act out of that bill and getting the Harris Rider put back in.
Speaker 1:That was fantastic and, just for people's clarity, the Harris Rider. What it does is it blocks Washington DC from being able to legalize recreational marijuana by acting within the appropriation setting. So for those who don't follow this process closely appropriations that's how government is funded, so these bills have to be passed in order to allocate budget and fund the government for all of its various inner workings and agencies and et cetera. And so when a amendment like the Andy Harris writers passed, what it does is it blocks funding from the enactment of legalization. So that's just kind of the function in terms of, in layman's terms, what happens, and so a writer like that is important because it prevents that from happening. And that's also a policy function that works in a lot of different ways and is used in a lot of other arenas. So just for the layman out there who don't know what we're talking about, just making it clear on the approach process there. Continue Jordan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, sometimes I think I'm in DC and just get in the Beltway mindset, and so sometimes I may forget to explain some things. I probably should. Three more things I want to bring up that we've done. That are awesome. Two. Three more things I want to bring up that we've done. That are awesome. Two, proactive and actually quite creative, I think, and another that we've pushed back against successfully.
Speaker 2:So you know, folks may or may not be familiar with this, but for the past 10 years there has been an appropriations measure that says that the Department of Justice again what Luke was saying cannot use funds to interfere with state legal medical marijuana programs. So if something is legal at the state level with medical marijuana, even if it's federally illegal, the feds can't do anything about it. Now that amendment we don't like, of course, but it's certainly too broad at the very least. And something that wasn't included in that amendment, that should have been an exclusion from the beginning, was the Drug-Free School Zones Act. There was a law that was passed in the 1980s that says you cannot sell a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school zone. It makes total sense. We're trying to protect kids.
Speaker 2:But what happens when a state says, well, you're allowed to build a medical marijuana dispensary right across the street from an elementary school. Some states actually have that in their state law, crazy enough, just hundreds of feet away. Well, the feds can't do anything about it, and they actually used to. They used to enforce that law, and then they stopped because of that appropriations provision. So what we did is we went to appropriators and said this is a loophole in this provision that needs to be closed, and so in the base text of the Commerce, justice and Science Bill, we got an exception to that medical marijuana rider. An exception has never been added to that in 10 years, but it was this year because of our efforts. That says actually, the Department of Justice can enforce the Drug-Free School Zones Act and they can protect kids even if states aren't doing it themselves.
Speaker 2:So it's a huge win for public health and for our kids safety, and hoping that that makes it all the way through the process and becomes law, yeah, and I think you know, and we can look at those things as like, oh, you know, there's an achievement whatever.
Speaker 1:But you know something like this. It just gets to how impractical the uh, certain members of congress, certain elected representatives, just blank check support for this industry and legalization can be. Because, you know, I'm sure, if we asked all the people who passed that, who voted for that rider the first year that it was passed, you know that defunded the enforcement against the medical marijuana industry, quote unquote, medical. You know, if we asked those people, if we said, hey, do you want a dispensary selling marijuana products to be within a few hundred feet of a school, they would probably say no. But you know, those sorts of nuances, those sorts of issues are not discussed when these things are passed. And it's the same thing with legalization more broadly. Oh, you know, do you want to legalize marijuana? Oh, you know, sure. But then, you know, peel back the onion. Oh well, what if that means that these products are more prevalent in your community? What if that means there's a shop in your community?
Speaker 1:Overwhelmingly, communities reject that. Overwhelmingly, states that voted for legalization reject having these stores in their communities and in their neighborhoods. So again. You know, we really need to think about these things before just blatantly voting for wide ranging policy. And so this is just one of those situations, jordan, where you pass something like this. It's totally out of touch with communities, totally out of touch with what makes sense for public health and safety and fostering safe communities for our kids. And here's what you have. Literally, the federal government passed something that protects the industry as they relentlessly target our kids, and I think that, anyway, that's just. You know, that's one of those things where it's like, wow, can't believe that happened.
Speaker 2:A last note on this, like just to provide some, of course, what everything you're saying is right, but to provide some like statistical data on on showing that you're right. Parents are 100 percent with us on this. University of Michigan actually did a survey a few years ago of parents, um, and for elementary, middle and high school students, um. Three out of four parents said that they disapprove of pot shops near their kids' schools. That was a survey that was done. 75% of parents said that. So we know that that is a real issue and that parents are totally with us on this. Another thing that I wanted to bring up that we did was something we've been working on for a few years and it should have been low-hanging fruit almost. We've been working on for a few years and it should have been low hanging fruit almost, and I think it's. It shows that, now that it's in this year, shows that people are actually kind of waking up to the issues. Uh, in that ag FDA appropriations bill, there was also a provision that urges the FDA to study the impacts of high potency marijuana specifically on things like psychosis and schizophrenia and addiction and other mental illnesses, and I hope that they do conduct more of that research. But it's already, I think, just a win having that in there, because for the first time, at least that I know, congress in an appropriations bill is recognizing this is a problem and the FDA needs to take it seriously and actually see what's going on with people who are using high potency marijuana. So that's a huge win as well.
Speaker 2:Last thing I wanted to mention on this approach stuff just yesterday, just to, I guess, maybe give a little bit of a glimpse for the listeners of the flurry and craziness that sometimes happens with all issues, but RSU too. On Capitol Hill there was a markup, and a markup is just when a committee votes to advance a bill and it leaves that committee and maybe it goes to another committee, but oftentimes it goes to the House floor and it gets voted on. So in the Appropriations Committee they marked up that Commerce, justice and Science bill that had the rescheduling block in it and the school zones thing in it. And during the committee hearing I learned that Representative Barclay Lee was going to introduce an amendment that would not protect, you know, states who enact medical but states who enact recreational marijuana legalization from Department of Justice interference.
Speaker 2:And so I had to work, you know, in less than an hour to try and do what I could to get good support in the committee and get members to speak up and make comments. And I worked with multiple members of Congress and they kind of looked at the talking points we gave them and gave great and eloquent speeches as to why this was a bad idea and we beat it. We beat it in the committee by a voice vote and they didn't even want to have a recorded vote. They didn't even want to go on the record on it and I think there are some Democrats who told me Can't imagine why actually thought we were going to lose that vote and we won that vote and it's quite amazing that we did and it just shows like literally had less than an hour of time and our team was able to scramble and make sure that this thing was killed and that was fantastic.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Well, jordan, thank you for the good work, thanks to our government affairs team and the whole SAM team for the great work on this, and I think you know it's just important to us that we make sure that you all are aware of what's going on in DC, what's going on behind the scenes. We see that as really our job to expose that, to work hard to represent your voice. So, for those of you who support us, we want to thank you for supporting us and for those of you who are listening to this and think, wow, like Sam's, you know they're doing a lot. We have a very small, nimble team. If you want to give to support this effort and help us expand this team so we can do more of this kind of work and have more hands on deck, we're always appreciative.
Speaker 1:You can give to us. Learnaboutsamorg slash, donate and give to support the mission. Also, give to support the drug report, the website, newsletter and podcast trio that we launched earlier this year. We're getting a lot of great engagement Thanks to all of you, new listeners. It seems like we're growing actually every day with this podcast, which is pretty exciting, as well as the newsletter also. So thank you, jordan, for joining me. Thank you to our listeners, as always, for your engagement. Please leave us a five star review and a comment, if you haven't done that already, and have a great rest of your week, thank you.