US Poised to Ease Restrictions on Marijuana in Historic Shift, But It'll Remain Controlled Substance

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.

The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation's most dangerous drugs.

However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. The proposal would move marijuana to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids. After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule. Federal drug policy has lagged behind many states in recent years, with 38 having already legalized medical marijuana and 24 legalizing its recreational use.

The Ohio Council Welcomes New Affiliate Member, IronRoad

IronRoad in Cincinnati, Ohio - Billy Southerland, CEO, can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at (513) 716-4600. 

IronRoad is a Professional Employer Organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio serving across all industries for the past 27 years.  IronRoad provides a variety of Fortune 100 services including payroll processing, tax filings, workers’ compensation insurance, human resources guidance and administration, and employee benefits plans and administration.

Click here to learn more about IronRoad!

Nonprofits Take a Hit in House Earmark Rules

House appropriators have made it more difficult for members to secure fiscal 2025 earmarks for some social services programs in their districts, according to new guidance Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., announced Thursday. Nonprofits are now blocked from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative grant program, which is where lawmakers of both parties turned after earmarks were banned completely from the Labor-HHS-Education bill last year. Republicans took issue with earmarks that aided the LGBTQ community that House Democrats had sought in the Transportation-HUD bill last year, and Cole has said he wants to eliminate “political” earmarks. Under the new guidance for the EDI account, only state, local and tribal governments are eligible, along with public colleges and universities. EDIs, which receive grants out of HUD’s Community Development Fund, were the largest single source of earmarks in final fiscal 2024 appropriations, at nearly $3.3 billion.

ODM Reminder to Review Provider Records

As we have previously shared, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) must validate organization information in the PNM against the Social Security Administration Death Master File. Provider organizations have previously been and will be terminated from Medicaid if deceased board members or inaccurate SSNs are listed under their organizational profile in the PNM. Medicaid will conduct this validation on an ongoing basis and will be doing so this weekend. As such, ODM sent a reminder to providers with instructions on how to verify information is accurate.

Additionally, ODM continues to validate individual provider licensure information against e-license monthly and will do so this weekend as well.  Behavioral health providers should ensure they have a process to update information related to ownership, control interest, and managing employees in the PNM for their organization and licenses for individual providers as these validations will be conducted monthly.

Below is the notice from ODM.  

Monthly Reminder!

Review and update provider records by April 26 to maintain enrollment as an Ohio Medicaid provider.

The Ohio Department of Medicaid is required by federal and state statutes to administer and monitor the integrity of its program. Central to that effort is working with Medicaid providers to ensure all reporting and administrative requirements are met. It is through these required checkpoints that the state can ensure Ohioans covered by Medicaid are receiving care from qualified, credentialed providers.

Each month Ohio Medicaid conducts two comprehensive reviews of provider and provider organization records maintained in the Provider Network Management portal to verify.

• Organizational ownership and employee management records, including listed social security numbers. For guidance see: Owner_Managing Employee Update Instructions.docx.
• Status of professional licenses and accreditations. For guidance see: Updating or Adding Professional License Information - Medicaid Provider Network Management Module.pdf

Failure to maintain these records in keeping with Ohio Medicaid's monthly verification schedule can result in immediate enrollment termination.

This email serves as your monthly reminder to review and update these records in the Medicaid Provider Network Portal each month to maintain your enrollment as an Ohio Medicaid provider.

For more information:

Technical support is available if you have questions regarding what’s required, or to check the status of your records.

Contact Ohio Medicaid’s Integrated Helpdesk at 800-686-1516 and follow the prompts for provider enrollment (option two, option two) or email [email protected]. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Eastern time.