I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 715 

To provide for the rescheduling of marihuana, the medical use of marihuana 

in accordance with State law, and the exclusion of cannabidiol from 

the definition of marihuana, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2017 

Mr. GRIFFITH (for himself and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 

in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the rescheduling of marihuana, the medical 

use of marihuana in accordance with State law, and 

the exclusion of cannabidiol from the definition of marihuana, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Compassionate Access 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF MARIHUANA FOR MEDICAL USE. 

7 (a) RESCHEDULING.— 

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1 (1) RECOMMENDATION BY HHS.—Not later 

2 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

4 in consultation with the Institute of Medicine of the 

5 National Academy of Sciences, shall submit to the 

6 Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administra7 tion a recommendation to transfer marihuana from 

8 schedule I under section 202 of the Controlled Sub9 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) to a schedule under 

10 such section 202 other than schedule I. 

11 (2) FINAL RULE.—Not later than one year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis13 trator of the Drug Enforcement Administration 

14 shall, taking into consideration the recommendation 

15 under paragraph (1), issue a final rule to transfer 

16 marihuana from schedule I under section 202 of the 

17 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) to a 

18 schedule under such section other than schedule I. 

19 (b) CANNABIDIOL.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (16) of section 

21 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 

22 802) is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(16) The’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘(16)(A) The’’; and 

25 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(B) Cannabidiol— 

2 ‘‘(i) is excluded from the definition of mar3 ihuana under subparagraph (A); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) shall not be treated as a controlled 

5 substance under this Act.’’. 

6 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 102 of the Con7 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802), as amended 

8 by paragraph (1), is further amended by adding at 

9 the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(57) The term ‘cannabidiol’ means the sub11 stance cannabidiol, as derived from marihuana or 

12 synthetically formulated, that contains not greater 

13 than 0.3 percent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on a 

14 dry weight basis.’’. 

15 (3) CANNABIDIOL DETERMINATION BY THE

16 STATES.—Section 201 of the Controlled Substances 

17 Act (21 U.S.C. 811) is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(j) CANNABIDIOL DETERMINATION.—If a person 

20 grows or processes marihuana for purposes of making 

21 cannabidiol in accordance with State law, the marihuana 

22 shall be deemed to meet the concentration limitation under 

23 section 102(57), unless the Attorney General determines 

24 that the State law is not reasonably calculated to ensure 

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1 that marihuana grown or processed for purposes of mak2 ing cannabidiol meets such concentration limitation.’’. 

3 (c) REGULATION UNDER STATE LAW.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In a State in which mari5 huana may be prescribed by a physician for medical 

6 use under applicable State law, no provision of the 

7 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) 

8 or of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

9 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) shall prohibit or otherwise re10 strict in such State in accordance with such State 

11 law— 

12 (A) the prescription of marihuana by a 

13 physician for medical use; 

14 (B) an authorized patient under such State 

15 law from obtaining, possessing, transporting, or 

16 using marihuana for that patient’s medical use; 

17 (C) a caregiver for an authorized patient 

18 from obtaining, possessing, or transporting 

19 marihuana, as authorized under such State law, 

20 for the medical use of such authorized patient; 

21 (D) the legally recognized parent or guard22 ian of a minor who is an authorized patient 

23 from obtaining, possessing, or transporting 

24 marihuana, as authorized under such State law, 

25 for the medical use of such minor; 

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1 (E) an entity from producing, processing, 

2 or otherwise manufacturing marihuana for med3 ical use, as authorized under such State law; 

4 (F) an entity from distributing marihuana 

5 for medical use, as authorized under such State 

6 law; 

7 (G) a pharmacy or other health care pro8 vider from dispensing marihuana to an author9 ized patient for medical use, as authorized 

10 under such State law; or 

11 (H) a laboratory or other entity from per12 forming safety, quality, or efficacy testing of 

13 marihuana for medical use, as authorized under 

14 such State law or under Federal law. 

15 (2) CANNABIDIOL.—Notwithstanding the exclu16 sion of cannabidiol from the definition of marihuana 

17 in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

18 U.S.C. 802), as amended, and section 5 of this Act, 

19 this subsection applies with respect to cannabidiol, 

20 as defined in such section 102, to the same extent 

21 and in the same manner as this subsection applies 

22 with respect to marihuana. 

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1 SEC. 3. RESEARCH INTO POTENTIAL MEDICINAL USES OF 

2 MARIHUANA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 

5 delegate responsibility under section 303(f) of the Con6 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(f)) for control over 

7 access to marihuana for research into its potential medic8 inal uses to an agency of the executive branch that is not 

9 focused on researching the addictive properties of sub10 stances. Such agency shall take appropriate actions to en11 sure that an adequate supply of marihuana is available 

12 for such medicinal research. 

13 (b) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER RESEARCH IN

14 SCHEDULING.—Research that is performed in a scientif15 ically sound manner in a State where marihuana or 

16 cannabidiol is legal for medical purposes, and in accord17 ance with such State’s law, but that does not use mari18 huana from federally approved sources, may be considered 

19 for purposes of rescheduling marihuana under section 202 

20 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812). 

21 SEC. 4. RELATION OF ACT TO CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS RE22 LATING TO SMOKING. 

23 This Act does not affect any Federal, State, or local 

24 law regulating or prohibiting smoking in public. 

25 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

26 In this Act: 

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1 (1) AUTHORIZED PATIENT.—The term ‘‘author2 ized patient’’ means an individual using marihuana 

3 in accordance with a prescription by a physician for 

4 medical use. 

5 (2) MARIHUANA.—Except as provided in sec6 tion 2(c)(2), the term ‘‘marihuana’’ has the meaning 

7 given to such term in section 102 of the Controlled 

8 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802), as amended by sec9 tion 2(b). 

10 (3) PHYSICIAN.—The term ‘‘physician’’ means 

11 a practitioner of medicine, who— 

12 (A) graduated from a college of medicine 

13 or osteopathy; and 

14 (B) is licensed to practice medicine by the 

15 appropriate State board. 

16 (4) PRESCRIPTION.—The term ‘‘prescription’’ 

17 means an instruction written by a medical physician 

18 in accordance with applicable State law that author19 izes the provision of a medicine or treatment to a 

20 patient. 

21 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

22 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other 

23 territory or possession of the United States. 

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