In 1996, California made history as voters passed the Compassionate Use Act, exempting medical marijuana patients & caregivers from criminal prosecution. In the years following, a total of 29 states & the District of Columbia, passed favorable medical marijuana legislation. More & more states are allowing recreational use, & public opinion is hastily decreasing. Unfortunately, at the federal level, cannabis remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug. The Controlled Substance Act (CSA) was established in 1973 to classify narcotic & psychotropic drugs. Until the side effects & potential of marijuana could be constantly studied, it was temporarily given the most restrictive classification, created for those drugs with serious potential for abuse & no apparent medical benefits, despite the abundance of researching supporting cannabis as a safe & effective medicine, the federal government refuses to make a change. Never in recorded history has there been a single overdose-related death caused by cannabis. Prescription opiates & cocaine are widely abused. They kill more than 25,000 people in this country each year, & yet are listed under the less restrictive Schedule 2 classification. Fortunately, there has been some progress. The Cole Memo, created by Deputy Attorney General James M Cole in August of 2013 calls for an end to federal enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). As long as state & local laws are being noticed, there is no need for federal interference. In May of 2014, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to prevent the Department of Justice from applying federal funds to prosecute medical marijuana patients or providers who respect their state’s laws. All of us now hoping Congress will takes the necessary & long-awaited steps to end the federal prohibition of cannabis.