By Shelby Huffaker, MPH | Chair, San Diego Chapter of Americans for Safe Access
On April 25, 2025, then-U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. sent a letter to the owners of a permitted dispensary in Washington, D.C. The letter warned that, because the dispensary is located within 1,000 feet of a school, it is in violation of federal law and that “the Department of Justice has the authority to enforce federal law even when such activities may be permitted under state or local law.” As part of a national non-profit organization with a mission to advance safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research, the San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access condemns this blatant disregard for the law and urges federal lawmakers to stand against attacks on state-legal medical cannabis programs.
The 2013 Cole Memorandum instructed the Department of Justice to deprioritize enforcement of federal cannabis prohibition in states where it has been legalized. This position was reinforced in 2014 by the passage of Rohrabacher–Farr amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill, which explicitly barred the use of federal funds to interfere with state medical cannabis programs. Although the Cole Memorandum was rescinded by then–Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018, medical cannabis is now legal in 39 states, three U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. Renewed federal enforcement against these programs would not only defy the will of the states—potentially violating the Tenth Amendment, as ruled in the City of Garden Grove vs. Superior Court of California and affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to review the decision—but would also run counter to overwhelming public opinion, with 88% of Americans currently supporting the legalization of medical cannabis.
Attorney Martin’s actions represent a brazen departure from historical precedent by opening up the door for federal interference in states’ medical cannabis programs. Indeed, while Attorney Martin’s letter cited the dispensary for existing within 1,000 feet of a school, within California, the minimum requirement between a cannabis business and a school is 600 feet. Consequently, legally permitted cannabis businesses in our own state could be subject to federal enforcement. Concerningly, Attorney Martin based his warning on “sensitive use” restrictions this time; however, if left unchallenged, similar arguments could be leveraged against other cannabis businesses for simply existing and even against patients for purchasing, growing, or possessing medicinal cannabis, since they, too, would be out of compliance with federal law. The slope is slippery and, for the many patients, business owners, and industry workers facing as much as millions of dollars in fines and decades in federal prison, the consequences could not be more dire.
To formally enshrine the rights of the millions of medical cannabis patients and the thousands of businesses that serve them, Americans for Safe Access has introduced comprehensive legislation in the form of the Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoid Act (MCCA). In brief, the MCCA would bring state-level medical cannabis programs into compliance with federal law by changing the schedule of cannabis to a newly created schedule (Schedule VI) and creating a new Office of Medical Cannabis & Cannabinoid Control (OMC), both overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
To protect patients and law-abiding business owners and operators by supporting this legislation and standing up to Attorney Martin’s actions, as well as any other lawyer, politician, or lobbyist who attempts to launch similar attacks, members of the public are urged to contact their federal lawmakers, urging them to publicly support the MCCA. See Americans for Safe Access’ Safe Access 4 All campaign page for helpful links and resources that can be used to help spread the word, build support, and inform policies that will protect patients and advance cannabis therapeutics!
About the Author
Shelby Huffaker, MPH is Chair of the San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe Access and a public health research coordinator who studies substance use. Her passions include cannabis, harm reduction, and the sociology of health, particularly as it relates to stigma and health equity. In her free time, Shelby enjoys running, singing in the shower, traveling, and spending time with her dog, Kai.
