Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (OK-4) and LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (AL-4) Lauded for Their Leadership
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement today after the House Appropriations Committee advanced the FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The bill report includes language put forward by Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (AL-4) that supports the compilation of a report on the flaws within HHS’s recommendation to reschedule marijuana. Further, the report language encourages HHS to research the negative impacts of high-potency marijuana and its impact on young brains, addiction, and mental illness like psychosis and schizophrenia. The report also contains language expressing support for the development of an objective standard for measuring marijuana impairment and a marijuana field sobriety test:
“Yesterday’s vote is the third major victory against the addiction-for-profit industry this week. While Big Marijuana continues its predatory campaign to hook a new generation of users, lawmakers in the House have seen through the misinformation and acted to protect our nation’s young people and those suffering from addiction.”
“It’s clear the only explanation for HHS’s recommendation is that the rescheduling process has been tainted by politics from the start. A report on the flawed process is something everyone who cares about our youth should welcome. We need science and health to guide our drug policies, not politics. Yesterday’s vote by the House Appropriations Committee could go a long way toward righting the course of public policy.”
“Expanding federal research on the negative impacts of marijuana is crucial to furthering our understanding of just how dangerous today’s high-potency pot is. This appropriations bill’s report language dispels of the myth that marijuana cannot be researched as a Schedule I drug. Congress is not requesting that HHS conducts research they cannot already do.”
“We all should be concerned about the dangers of stoned driving. By focusing on developing a field sobriety test for marijuana, the Appropriations Committee is taking a big step forward to ensure our roads are safe. Marijuana-impaired driving deaths consistently increase in states that legalize pot. Too many innocent lives have been lost because of reckless policy decisions.”
“We thank House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt, and all the members of the committee who voted in favor of restoring sense and sanity to the nation’s drug policy. The Committee has taken a tremendous stand that will reverberate in America’s communities for years to come.”