Details
Since 1970, cannabis within the federal Controlled Substances Act’s (CSA’s) definition of “marijuana” or “marihuana” has been controlled under Schedule I of the CSA. Schedule I drugs have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. Despite control at the federal level, an increasing number of state, local, tribal, and territorial bodies have enacted laws allowing medical or both medical and nonmedical adult use of what is federally considered "marijuana" by the CSA’s definition. The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) pursued analyses in the Sentinel System to assess the temporal trends in cannabis-related healthcare encounters, including cannabis-related disorders and poisonings, among commercially insured adults aged 18-64 years. Results showed that between 2017-2022, increasing trends in cannabis-related healthcare encounters were observed, largely in emergency departments and outpatient care settings. Of note, given the administrative nature of the data, reason for use or distinction between marijuana, synthetic cannabinoids, and federally legal hemp could not be determined. Sentinel results were cited in the 2023 scientific and medical evaluation of “marijuana” conducted by FDA on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and transmitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The HHS evaluation provided a basis for the DEA’s proposed rule, published in the Federal Register (89 FR 44597, May 21, 2024), to reschedule “marijuana” from Schedule I to Schedule III of the CSA.