Congresswoman Says She’d Break Federal Law To Get Medical Marijuana If Her Daughter Needed It

A congresswoman said she’d be inclined to seek out medical marijuana for her daughter if she had a condition the plant could help treat, regardless of federal prohibition.

In a short video published on Facebook last week, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) is shown meeting with a mother whose child suffered from a rare form of brain cancer and benefitted from cannabis before passing away earlier this year. They both discussed how marijuana’s Schedule I status inhibit research and limits patient access.

“From the federal level, I think the key thing that we can do to make an impact is immediately just remove it from the Schedule I list,” the congresswoman said. “I think we need to bring it into a system where it’s prescribable by doctors, there’s better research and understandability of it, there’s regulation of the actual product.”

She went on to say in a whisper that “I’d want to do the same thing for my daughter if I ever had to make that choice,” referring to the mother’s decision to obtain cannabis for her daughter’s treatment.

In a pair of tweets to promote the video, which is a clip from a short documentary about the young patient Madison Davis called “Little but Fierce,” Luria highlighted how in many states parents can lose custody of their kids over marijuana—even for potentially lifesaving medical use.

Cannabis is on Schedule I, so Madison's mother could lose her to child protective services. I can't sit when archaic laws cause undue hardships on children. That's why I support the Medical Marijuana Research Act to make cannabis accessible for medical research purposes. (2/2)

— Rep. Elaine Luria (@RepElaineLuria) October 3, 2020

“Cannabis is on Schedule I, so Madison’s mother could lose her to child protective services. I can’t sit when archaic laws cause undue hardships on children,” the congresswoman said. “That’s why I support the Medical Marijuana Research Act to make cannabis accessible for medical research purposes.”

That bipartisan legislation was approved in a House committee last month. In addition to streamlining federally authorized studies into cannabis, it would also let researchers obtain marijuana from state-legal dispensaries.

Luria has previously put a spotlight on the Davis family’s experience, arguing during a congressional hearing that it underscores the need for federal marijuana reform.

She testified before the House Judiciary Committee last year to advocate for policy changes that would end “archaic” restrictions on cannabis and research into the plant.

The congresswoman has also cosponsored legislation to federally deschedule marijuana, protect banks that service the industry from being penalized from federal regulators and allow veterans to access cannabis for therapeutic purposes.

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