Bring cannabis out of medicine’s shadows

As a physician and as a legislator, my duty is to safeguard the well-being of the people I serve — both in the exam room and in the statehouse. That is why, in 2021, I proudly sponsored Alabama’s Compassion Act, which legalized medical cannabis for patients with debilitating conditions.

As an anesthesiologist, I have seen firsthand how pain, nausea, seizures, and other conditions rob people of their dignity. And I have seen how traditional treatments often fall short — or worse, come with unacceptable risks.

I now urge our federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Agency, to support a necessary next step: Rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, a move that is thankfully backed by President Donald Trump.

For too long, cannabis has been restricted by outdated federal policy. As a Schedule I substance, cannabis is defined as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. This classification defies the overwhelming scientific evidence that proves the contrary and the lived experience of millions of patients across the country.

A Schedule III classification is not a free pass. It includes substances like ketamine and anabolic steroids — medications that are medically valuable but tightly regulated. Moving cannabis to Schedule III acknowledges what state medical programs, clinicians, and researchers have been saying for years: Cannabis has legitimate medical uses and should be treated as such.

Rescheduling would unlock significant opportunities for medical research. Currently, federal restrictions make it extraordinarily difficult to conduct clinical trials on cannabis. Researchers face burdensome approvals, limited access to quality cannabis, and institutional hesitance fueled by stigma.

These barriers hinder our ability to fully understand the therapeutic potential — and the risks — of cannabis-based treatments.

We must base decisions on evidence. Rescheduling would permit researchers to study cannabis more freely, enabling the medical community to refine dosages, identify which conditions respond best to treatment, and better understand potential interactions or contraindications. Ultimately, it would lead to safer, more effective patient care.

For patients in Alabama, these changes are especially critical. While we have taken the crucial step of legalizing medical cannabis through the Compassion Act, access remains limited due to federal constraints. For example, Alabama physicians who support medical cannabis must still operate under cautious legal guidance, often without full support from hospital systems or insurers.

Many patients struggle to afford cannabis-based treatments out of pocket because insurance will not cover something that’s federally classified as illegal. Rescheduling could begin to change that.

Critics sometimes argue that rescheduling opens the door to abuse or recreational legalization, but that is far from the truth. Schedule III does not equate to a recreational free-for-all. It simply means we treat medical cannabis with the seriousness it deserves — like any other controlled substance with therapeutic value. Physicians would remain the gatekeepers, and state-level regulations would continue to govern access.

Let us bring cannabis out of the shadows and into the realm of modern medicine — where it belongs.

Tim Melson is a state senator representing Lauderdale and Limestone counties. He chairs the Senate Health Committee.