The legalization of cannabis is growing at an exponential rate. As of this past year, all but four states have some form of legal-cannabis industry ranging from medical cannabis to recreational adult-use cannabis. However, despite the approval of legalization among so many state governments, the federal government has yet to advance federal legalization of cannabis.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues to classify cannabis as a Schedule I drug on the Controlled Substance Act (CSA); therefore, according to the DEA, it is considered to have "a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use." As a result of this classification, patients who use cannabis for medical reasons cannot legally enter federal land, travel by air or other federally regulated modes of transportation, and could be arrested and federally prosecuted for engaging in activity not authorized under the CSA. Even individuals who have not been subject to criminal prosecution and organizations engaged in cannabis-related activities in violation of the CSA, including participants in the state-legal cannabis industry, may face collateral consequences arising from the Schedule 1 classification of cannabis. To mitigate the collateral consequences of this classification, Congressional legislators have made numerous legislative proposals on a federal level over the past few years to amend the CSA. This article touches upon these federal legislative efforts.