ACCESS Newswire
22 Apr 2026, 00:09 GMT+10

'This isn't about being anti-cannabis. It's about being pro-science. MMJ International Holdings followed the FDA botanical drug pathway from the beginning, and we are working through the same CMC requirements every pharmaceutical developer must meet. Federal healthcare programs should not introduce cannabinoid products into the Medicare population until those same standards are satisfied.'

Why the SAM Lawsuit Against CMS Is Likely to Prevail - and Why It Matters for MMJ International Holdings

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / April 21, 2026 / A federal lawsuit challenging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' decision to introduce hemp-derived cannabinoid access pathways into Medicare connected care models is rapidly becoming one of the most consequential cannabis policy cases in years.

The litigation-supported by clinicians, constitutional scholars, and aligned with the regulatory position long advanced by MMJ International Holdings-centers on a simple but foundational principle:

Federal healthcare reimbursement must follow scientific validation-not precede it.

If the court agrees, the decision could reshape how botanical therapies enter federal healthcare systems and reinforce the FDA clinical-trial pathway that MMJ has followed from the beginning.

The lawsuit raises several arguments that courts historically take seriously under administrative law.

1. CMS cannot bypass the FDA drug-approval framework

The United States already has a defined system for introducing therapies into federally funded care: