The Medical Cannabis Explosion Just Got Real
The global cannabis trifecta has hit! The United States has finally rescheduled cannabis, moving it to Schedule III; the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have released a report deeming cannabis a safe medicine; and Germany has removed the narcotics derivation from cannabis, making it easy to prescribe.
We are entering an era of global regulatory change and a medical cannabis explosion that can only be likened to the early days of U.S. and Canadian legalization back in 2014. This time, the most influential economies — the U.S. and Germany — and a significant health regulatory agency — the FDA — have put an official stamp on cannabis as a medicine.
The Impact Of The HHS Report On Cannabis: Sparking Change
This movement started with a 252-page HHS report filed in August of 2023 and made public in January 2024 thanks to the Freedom of Information Act. The report is packed with medical evidence as to the safety of cannabis and declares that cannabis is beneficial for at least 15 medical indications.
The HHS and FDA made these determinations after reviewing two decades of cannabis use in the United States, citing reports from over 6,000,000 patients and 30,000 prescribing physicians. The report unequivocally states that cannabis is safe. It goes on to clarify that cannabis is safer than …