Kirsten Gillibrand, a senator from New York State, has called on the Drug Enforcement Administration to act “with great urgency” in order to reschedule cannabis according to a recommendation made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The senator wrote to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in a letter last week that, while she “remains strongly convinced that marijuana should not be classified at all,” the agency “at a minimal” should move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III , under the Controlled Substances Act.
HHS made this recommendation to DEA after an 11-month review of marijuana, which it conducted under a presidential directive last year. The DEA should “take into full consideration” the assessment of the health agency when deciding to reschedule marijuana, Gillibrand wrote. This letter was first published by Finger Lakes Daily News.
She said: “Schedule 1 is the same classification as heroin and LSD and even higher than medical fentanyl or methamphetamine, which are currently causing a serious health crisis for our communities.”
Stop the injustice and harm that has lasted for decades.
I am still firmly convinced that marijuana should be de-scheduled and legalized, but I asked @DEAHQ if they would at least consider moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. pic.twitter.com/XwOAh2OYuC
— Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (@gillibrandny) November 17, 2023
Senators have said that the scheduling classification of marijuana has “hampered our ability to collect the necessary data in order to make informed decisions about its legal status.”
Marijuana has a lower harm potential than Schedule I drugs like heroin. Marijuana use is associated with lower acute health risks, and a potential for addiction than substances such as heroin or cocaine. It’s virtually impossible to overdose on marijuana.
Before Biden’s marijuana scheduling directive and mass pardon was announced, Gillibrand, along with five of her Senate co-workers, sent a letter to Biden and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. They urged the administration to delist marijuana, and to provide large-scale relief to people who have federal cannabis convictions.
The health agency’s recommendation to deschedule marijuana is not the same as the Schedule III recommendation. Gillibrand stated in a new letter that a modest reclassification will “move marijuana closer to being available legally by prescription” and encourage investments and research on its medical applications.
She wrote: “Medical marijuana is effective in treating chronic pain, nerve and post-traumatic disorder, among other conditions.” She wrote: “Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III will encourage scientific research that can further safe and effective marijuana usage and marijuana-derived therapeutic effects.”
She said that the Biden Administration should be commended “for its commitment to addressing systemic and racist injustices in federal marijuana policy”, adding that punitive polices “have deliberately stigmatized cannabis and disproportionately target minority communities for years.”
Even though marijuana use among different races is comparable, selective policing, racial profiling, and other factors have resulted in higher arrest rates for people of color. The disparities continue in our judicial system, where people of color are disproportionately affected by harsher sentences. Criminal records for marijuana use impose unnecessary barriers to housing, employment and education opportunities. This contributes to multigenerational cycles of poverty.”
The letter concluded that “the DEA must act urgently to comply with FDA and HHS recommendations to reschedule cannabis from a Schedule 1 to Schedule III substance.” We appreciate your attention on this important issue, and we stand ready to collaborate to correct decades-long policies that have not only slowed down medical research but also caused deep racial inequalities, causing harm to Black and Brown Communities.
Gillibrand has been a long-time advocate for reforms and legalization, as well as for reforms that address the harms caused by the drug war. She unveiled her plan in 2019 and has also sponsored comprehensive legislation.
She also asked Jeff Sessions in 2018, a vocal opponent of cannabis reform who was then Attorney General, to meet face-to-face her constituents arrested for marijuana and other drug offenses.
Gillibrand’s not the only legislator who is putting pressure on DEA in regards to the ongoing administrative review of marijuana scheduling.
Last month, a coalition of 31 bipartisan House members sent a letter to the DEA Administrator asking her to consider the congressional and state marijuana legalization initiatives when the agency conducts its review of the scheduling. The lawmakers also criticized simple rescheduling, and pushed for a complete removal from the CSA of marijuana.
The letter is a counterbalance for other recent messages DEA received from Congress opponents of reform, former DEA and White House Drug Czars who claim that even moving cannabis to Schedule III would be too far .
Fourteen Republican members of Congress recently urged DEA “reject” top federal health agency’s recommendations to reschedule cannabis, and instead keep it under the most restrictive category in the CSA.
Recently, two GOP senators – including the Republican lead sponsor of an marijuana banking bill which was approved by a key committee back in September — have filed legislation that would prohibit federal agencies from rescheduling Cannabis without tacit consent from Congress.
Rep. Pete Sessions, (R-TX), separately submitted an amendement for a spending measure that would prohibit the Justice Department using federal funds to reschedule marijuana .
Supporters of cannabis reform and advocates of legislation have marked the anniversary of Biden’s pardon of marijuana and his scheduling directive with a call for him to do more, including by extending the relief of his pardon, and by explicitly supporting federal legalization.
It’s unclear when the DEA will finish its cannabis review. A former Food and Drug Administration official (FDA), however, says he would be “shocked”, if DEA didn’t reschedule cannabis by next year’s Presidential election.
Below, you can read the Senator’s Letter to DEA Administrator on marijuana scheduling:
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Photo by Philip Steffan.
The first time Marijuana Moment published the post Senator Pushes DEA to Act with ‘Great Urgency” To Reschedule Marijuana.
