A GOP senator says the federal government needs to “step up” and explore a regulatory framework for marijuana—and that should include a pathway to explore the “efficacy” of cannabis for certain health conditions.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC made these comments at a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Wednesday. This was where the nominees for the Office of National Drug Control Policy Director (ONDCP), and the judicial appointees of President Donald Trump testified before possible confirmation votes.
Tillis noted that Booker made “very good points” about the cannabis policy during the hearing, adding that Congress “is not doing their job by acknowledging that that bell had been rung.”
The Republican Senator argued that as more states legalize marijuana, public health concerns about THC strength will worsen unless “we get serious” with regulatory regimes.
You can listen to Senator Senegal’s remarks about marijuana laws starting at the 2:44:10 mark of the video.
The Congress needs to take action and figure out what we can do to manage this [and] exploit its efficacy in areas that are helpful—particularly for the treatment of persons with PTSD” and pain, Tillis said. We need to be more aggressive.
Tillis said, “I hope we get some things done in my remaining time,” Tillis who will not be running for re-election.
Sara Carter, Trump’s choice for White House drug-czar (she also goes by the name Sara Bailey) answered Booker’s questions earlier and stated that “all options are on the table,” as the administration continues to examine a marijuana rescheduling plan.
Booker noted that Carter discussed her support for medical marijuana access in 2023, adding that Congress has had “bipartisan hearings here with military personnel talking about the transformative impact it’s had” in treating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The senator said that while he supports the end of federal prohibition on cannabis, the proposal for rescheduling it initiated by former president Joe Biden and Trump announced last month he would make a decision about this imminently was a step in the “right direction.”
Tillis has not commented on the move to Schedule III from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. He did, however, reiterate his earlier comments about the importance of evaluating a federal regulatory framework on marijuana.
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In a June hearing of the Judiciary Committee, Tillis stated that opponents to marijuana legalization had “lost” their fight against prohibition. He said that it was “time” that lawmakers addressed this reality by creating an administrative framework that treats cannabis in the same manner as alcohol and tobacco.
Back in February, the senator also raised the issue during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, saying “we should reexamine [federal marijuana laws].” But “we shouldn’t be doing it” by simply passing legislation to prevent federal regulators penalizing banks who work with cannabis-related businesses that are legal in their state.
“If somebody wants to work on rules of the road and do that—and bank the industry in a cohesive, sustainable way that doesn’t kind of skirt around the fact that it’s still illegal at the federal level—count me in. “I’m happy to do it,” Tillis stated.
Tillis also said last December that he’s hopeful Congress will have a “discussion” about potentially creating a federal regulatory framework for marijuana in 2025, though he added that he personally wouldn’t vote to federally legalize cannabis.
The senator said last year that he also supports the creation of a comprehensive regulatory framework which treats marijuana like tobacco, arguing that the federal government must find a way to safely allow this market.
Tillis in April joined Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) in asking federal, state and local officials what steps they were taking to enforce marijuana prohibition as an Indian tribe prepared to launch recreational cannabis sales on its lands within North Carolina.
Meanwhile, back in 2017, Tillis also teamed up with bipartisan colleagues on a bill that was meant to ease researchers’ access to marijuana for studies on its medical benefits and require the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to develop recommendations for good manufacturing practices for growing and producing cannabis for research.
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