The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a coalition of 12 Democratic State Attorneys General, is urging them to proceed with the federal marijuana rescheduling. They call the policy change a ‘public safety imperative.
In a Friday letter sent by Colorado Attorney-General Phil Weiser to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, top state law enforcement officials stated that they were “encouraged,” to see the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend moving cannabis from the Schedule I to the Schedule III of Controlled Substances (CSA), “in the interests of public safety and health.”
They wrote: “For these reason, we encourage the DEA [U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency] to implement a rule rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III based upon the Federal Drug Administration’s [sic] medical and scientific conclusions.” “We view this as an imperative for public safety and support this policy change.”
As state attorneys general, they stated that it is their responsibility to protect the public and consumers. They also expressed concern about the illicit cannabis markets, the unregulated sale of cannabinoid-based products containing hemp and the “continuing spread of dangerous opioids”.
The officials stated that “State-sanctioned marijuana markets provide access to regulated cannabis products which are clearly safer than what people can buy in the street. Supporting the effective operation and management of these regulated markets fits our commitment to address the opioid crisis, as well as the rising number of overdose deaths.”
The undersigned understand that moving to Schedule III would allow state-regulated cannabis industries to continue setting the standard for legal products, and to work towards eliminating the illicit market as well as unregulated intoxicating products of hemp that are currently available in interstate commerce. The demand for these products is not going to change, regardless of what policy decisions are made. “By meeting this demand in a legal, regulated marketplace, consumers are better protected.”
The letter notes that the tax revenue generated by regulated cannabis sales contributes “billions” of dollars to state coffers. The letter also notes that moving cannabis to Schedule III will allow licensed businesses to claim federal tax deductions, after being excluded from the scope of 280E provisions. This would help them to “expand [their] investments into state programs and focus their efforts on public health and security in collaboration with law-enforcement efforts.”
It is important to recognize that cannabis use, particularly among youth, poses health and safety hazards. The attorneys general stated that our regulatory regimes sought to balance the mandate of creating as safe a frame work as possible, with the reality these risks. “We believe there is an obligation to protect state-regulated industries by moving cannabis from Schedule II to Schedule III, especially in light of the risks of the unregulated illicit market, and hemp-derived cannabinoids that are not regulated.”
The letter concluded that rescheduling cannabis was “the next move in moving towards a more responsible cannabis policy”. We are ready to work with your Agency in order to maintain the state regulatory programs under federal cannabis policies that continue to evolve.
The other signatories include the AGs of California, Connecticut Delaware, Illinois Maryland, Massachusetts Nevada, New Jersey Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Delaware.
The DEA has not yet announced its decision on scheduling, but the agency has repeatedly stated that it is the “final authority” and does not rely on the HHS recommendations. The Congressional Research Service said that DEA is “likely” to follow the Schedule III recommendation by HHS. However, it’s not a guarantee.
In a letter sent to legislators last month, the DEA said that it had the final say on whether to schedule, reschedule or deschedule a substance under the Controlled Substances Act. This decision was made after examining the relevant statutory criteria, the regulatory criteria, and the HHS scientific and medical evaluation. “DEA is currently conducting its review.”
The DEA statement was in response to a letter earlier from 31 bipartisan legislators, led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer(D-OR), who urged the agency to take into account the “merits of legalization” as it conducted its review. The initial letter criticized the limitations that come with simply placing cannabis on Schedule III as opposed to removing it from CSA control.
DEA received a variety of messages in the last few months from both sides of the debate on cannabis policy. One of these was a letter from 29 former U.S. Attorneys who urged Biden’s administration to keep cannabis under Schedule I.
The governors of six U.S. States–Colorado Illinois, New York New Jersey Maryland and Louisiana sent a letter to Biden last month asking the administration to reschedule cannabis by the end the year.
Six former DEA directors and five former White House Drug Czars have sent a letter to the Attorney General and current DEA Administrator expressing their opposition to the recommendation of the federal health agency to reschedule cannabis . The letter also included a questionable statement about the relationship between criminal penalties and drug schedules, which could have exaggerated the impact of incremental reform.
The DEA and Office of National Drug Control Policy directors under both major parties’ presidents are among the signatories.
In October, advocates and lawmakers who support marijuana reform marked one year anniversary of Biden’s mass marijuana pardon. They also called on him to do even more.
Two GOP Senators, including the Republican lead sponsor of an marijuana banking bill which was approved by a key committee back in September also filed legislation at the end of last year to prohibit federal agencies from rescheduling Cannabis without tacit consent from Congress.
A coalition of Republican lawmakers has urged DEA, meanwhile to “reject”, the top federal agency’s recommendation that marijuana be rescheduled and instead kept in the most restricted category under the CSA.
Separately the DEA announced recently that it will take another shot at after abandoning its initial scheduling proposal for 2022. This is a new fight with advocates and researchers who claim these compounds have therapeutic potential.
Separately, the agency has warned Georgia pharmacies about the illegality of dispensing THC as it is still a Schedule I substance. This comes after Georgia became the first state in the U.S. that allowed pharmacies to offer medical marijuana. Nearly 120 facilities applied to sell cannabis oil.
The DEA has recently confirmed that spores, which produce the so-called magic mushroom, are not federally prohibited on their own prior to germination.
After the federal government informed an attorney that they would release the materials “in full” in response to a FOIA suit, more information is expected soon.
Illinois Supreme Court to Rule on Whether the smell of marijuana alone is sufficient for a vehicle search
Photo by Philip Steffan.
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