Senate Opposition on Cannabidiol
Fast Fact: The Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act of 2017, S. 1276, and currently has 7 Senate Cosponsors
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is a powerful Senator from Iowa. Senator Dianne Feinstein is an 84 year old Senior Senator from California, who despite the openmindedness of her constituents, continues to fiercely oppose marijuana legalization in 2017. The two of them are the Co-Chairs of the Senate Caucus on International Drug Control, which despite their best intentions, kind of puts them in the running for worst Senators ever.
Together they have introduced the Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (S.1276) . This legislation would, "require the Attorney General to make a determination as to whether cannabidiol should be a controlled substance". The objective is to lawfully make CBD a Schedule II Drug. This would mean that CBD would fall under the same drug classification as Codeine and Morphine, and Opium Extracts, which is also the same classification for "Raw Opium", and "Coca Leaves".
On face value the bill doesn't look so bad; Senator Feinstein says on her website, "Cumbersome research regulations have made it difficult to conduct research on the potential medical benefits of marijuana". But that is the secret to these Drug-Warrior Senators success. They can co-opt well meaning followers and even Senators behind the goal to expand research, while in actuality, severely restricting access while simultaneously handing over a monopoly on hemp wellness products to just one company (GW Pharmaceuticals, in this case )
This terrible bill begins with the idea that the Controlled Substances Act is working. This bill does not question whether or not "Marihuana" should be rescheduled, but only the non-psychoactive derivatives. This bill pre-supposes that Marijuana and THC should remain Schedule I drugs, and then attempts to urge ignorant people to see this as a step forward.
The danger of this bill is that if we ever gained enough momentum to have a hearing about CBD, it would have to go through Senator Grassley, Feinstein, or both. And since they both have introduced this bill, they would try to redirect the hearing to be about their bill, rather than the Therapeutic Hemp Medical Access Act. And if the Senator and Public get fooled into thinking that Schedule II access is a win, we will lose decades in progress we have built towards larger changes.
