FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 23, 2024

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hcrook@precisionstrategies.com

In a Public Comment Filed with DEA, Commonwealth Project Founder Howard Kessler Argues While Rescheduling Marijuana Will Provide Greater Certainty for Cannabis Researchers, Explicit Assurances Are Needed to Promote More Expedient Research Into Medical Cannabis Use for Seniors

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the Commonwealth Project urged the DEA and the DOJ to ensure that the forthcoming rule rescheduling marijuana extends explicit protections for cannabis researchers and physicians who are studying the benefits of medical cannabis, especially for the 65+ senior population. In a public comment filed with the DEA, Howard Kessler — the founder of the Commonwealth Project who is spearheading the movement to integrate medical cannabis into mainstream health care for seniors — said that rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III will provide “greater, but not complete, certainty for seniors, researchers, and physicians to engage in research or pilot health care projects that examine the benefits and distribution of medical cannabis.”

In a public comment filed with the DEA this week, Kessler asserted, “At this time, researchers and suppliers of cannabis for medical research, as well as physicians, are offered certain protections under the Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (MMCREA) that allow them to legally distribute or discuss the harms and benefits of medical cannabis, respectively. However, federal lawmakers and stakeholders continue to voice concerns that MMCREA has not been implemented in line with Congressional intent and that researchers continue to face barriers from both the FDA and DEA.”

Kessler continued, “The final rule mandating rescheduling should include, at a minimum, an explicit assurance that participants, researchers, and individuals and/or organizations that engage or participate in health care projects will suffer no adverse consequences from any Federal agency.”

Under Kessler’s leadership, the Commonwealth Project is proposing a real-world, value-based medical cannabis demonstration project in a regulated state that breaks out the over 65 demographic — which Kessler believes could trigger a “fundamental overhaul of the senior health care landscape.”

“The pilot project would provide research needed to inform healthcare guidance for seniors’ health care practitioners and safely shape the medical marijuana marketplace (i.e. safe, consistently-doses, accurately labeled products),” Kessler said in his comment to the DEA. “Working directly with payer providers enables this project to gather real world data, validate the health outcomes, and calculate savings of an improved medicinal distribution model. The Commonwealth Project would share the findings of this project with the US government, toward the goal of establishing a more efficient, effective, and equitable distribution and oversight model for cannabis based therapies.”

The full text of Kessler’s public comment filed with the DEA this week can be found here. 

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