The leaders of the Congressional marijuana reform movement are encouraged by a Biden administration official’s statement to Marijuana Moment that he thinks a review of cannabis scheduling that he is overseeing will be finished “this year.”
Advocates and stakeholders eagerly await a status report. Since President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Justice Department to conduct the administrative review in the months following, they have been waiting for an update. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has finally provided a tentative schedule, stating that he hopes the president will receive a decision on cannabis scheduling “this year.”
Three co-chairs from the Congressional Cannabis Caucus weighed into the news with statements to Marijuana Moment. They expressed cautious optimism about the Secretary’s ability to follow through in the months ahead.
Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, said: “I’ll be disappointed if there are no significant improvements within this year.” There should be more urgency in taking this long-overdue action.
Blumenauer, along with 15 other members of Congress from both parties, demanded transparency in the review of cannabis schedule.
The letter stated that Biden’s scheduling directive is “an opportunity for an honest assessment of origins and consequences of federal policy.” It also added that marijuana was classified based on stigma, not science. And it’s now “time to address the reality of marijuana as a state regulated substance.”
Rep. Dave Joyce, R-OH, told Marijuana Moment Friday that he is “glad” to have Secretary Becerra’s support to work on a comprehensive review of the scheduling procedure.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-CA, made it clear that she wanted the review to end with a decision to remove cannabis completely from the Controlled Substances Act.
The congresswoman said Marijuana Moment that federal descheduling was long overdue. “We have been pressing the Biden administration for bold steps to end this war on drugs and I am hopeful that they will do so.”
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Lee stated last week that, as lawmakers continue to work on incremental marijuana legislation such as the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE), the Biden Administration needs to act “now” to schedule federal cannabis before the next election.
Becerra told Marijuana Moment at a press conference in Sacramento, California, on Thursday that this timeline could be realistic and even arrive months before the November elections.
The secretary stated, “I can tell you that the president has instructed us to look at the way we treat marijuana and see if there are any ways we can update the review we have done of it as a substance. We will also be looking at the best way we can treat marijuana going forward at the federal level.” “While California has changed its laws, the federal government still does not. We have been given instructions and are currently working on this review.”
He stated that HHS and other agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA), “work together to see if they can give the President an answer that is based on science and evidence.” Stay tuned. “We hope to be able get there fairly soon — hopefully this year.”
HHS will then send a recommendation for scheduling to DEA , which makes the final decision. DEA can theoretically ignore the recommendation based on HHS’s findings, even though they are legally binding.
Becerra stated that “we are trying to spread the word as fast as possible about marijuana.”
California lawmaker warns that the Senate-passed psychedelics legalization bill faces a ‘challenging road’ in Assembly
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The post Congressional Cannabis Caucus leaders React to Marijuana Scheduling update from top Biden Official first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
