A coalition of drug reform advocates wants to “correct” the record on the Biden administration’s marijuana policies. They are calling attention to the unfulfilled promises made to Black and Brown communities regarding cannabis reform, and criticizing the limitations on incremental rescheduling.
Representatives of several equity-focused cannabis groups reacted to the modest reforms proposed by the Obama administration during a virtual briefing on Wednesday. They argued that any step short of ending federal criminalization of marijuana would be a disservice for the communities who have been most affected by prohibition.
Maritza Perez-Medina, Director of Federal Affairs at DPA, said during the briefing, that moving marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Drug Enforcement Administration, is “something our communities cannot accept.”
She said that as long as marijuana is included in the CSA, federal marijuana prohibition will continue.
Cat Packer is vice chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition and director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation at DPA. She said that the Biden Administration’s comments about its marijuana policy accomplishments “illustrate the need for Black-and-brown communities to correct the records of what promises were made to our community and whether any of those promises have actually been kept.”
Joe Biden ran for president on the promise to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. He has said that no one should be imprisoned over cannabis. But these broader promises, despite pardoning people for certain federal marijuana possession crimes and directing an scheduling review, have yet to be fulfilled.
Packer stated that “Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III, the outcome expected to result from Biden’s administration actions, would continue the criminalization which Biden had said he would stop and is exactly the type of incrementalism that [Vice-President Kamala Harris] criticised in 2020,” Packer. “Where is the accountability for Black and Brown communities who were promised these reforms?”
The group’s stance on the potential limitations and consequences of a gradual rescheduling was in line with what Rep. Barbara Lee, D-CA, told Marijuana Moment (last week). The congresswoman is a cochair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and said she was concerned that moving cannabis to Schedule III would set the country “another fifty years” back on the road to federal legalization.
Dr. Rachel Knox of the Association for Cannabis Health Equity and Medicine told Marijuana Moment at Wednesday’s event, “Congresswoman Lee has it right.”
“Rescheduling does not represent progress,” she said. “Rescheduling is an immediate regression,” she said.
“Rescheduling cannabis would be an historic mistake and failure, for two main reasons: first, it fails in its attempt to address the harms that were caused historically by the original scheduling of cannabis. Second, it would make future reforms nearly impossible. “There would be no political will for further reform, as those with the greatest social and political capital would be content with rescheduling marijuana.”
On the rescheduling issue, the Biden administration was recently pressed to move marijuana to Schedule III by two coalitions representing military veterans and law enforcement–including a group that counts DEA Administrator Anne Milgram among its members.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, the founding co-chair of the Cannabis Caucus, has urged DEA for more information on its own ongoing review. This includes what the “planned deadline” to finish is and whether or not it will consider the fact that several states have already legalized marijuana.
The correspondence was in response to a recent statement from DEA stating that it had “final authority” over the rescheduling of flights–which, itself, was a reply to a separate letter by Blumenauer and other bipartisan legislators.
Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Californian Representative, sent a recent letter to DEA’s Milgram urging him to “reject any arguments” that rescheduling cannabis under federal law would be a violation international treaty obligations. She also wants the agency to provide a list of “outside partners,” with whom it has discussed the global implications of potential cannabis reclassification.
A Republican congressman, who has been a long-time opponent of marijuana reform, claimed in a DEA letter that FDA reached a “misguided” conclusion to recommend rescheduling Cannabis. He challenged the scientific standards set by the health agency and pleaded with DEA to disregard them when it comes to making a final decision.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D) and John Fetterman(D) along with Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D) and other advocates of marijuana reform– urged DEA go beyond rescheduling and fully remove cannabis from the CSA.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra stated last month that his department has “communicated its position” to DEA on marijuana rescheduling and continues to provide additional information in order to help with the final decision.
Before HHS released a trove documents regarding its cannabis recommendation, a group of Democratic state attorneys general urged DEA to proceed with federal marijuana rescheduling. They called the policy change a ‘public safety imperative.
In a second letter, sent in December, 29 former U.S. Attorneys urged the Biden administration not to include cannabis on Schedule I.
In the same month, six U.S. governors–Colorado. Illinois, New York. New Jersey, Maryland, and Louisiana-sent a message to Biden , urging the administration to reschedule cannabis by the end last 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.
A coalition of Republican lawmakers , meanwhile separately, urged DEA “reject” top federal health agency’s recommendation to reschedule cannabis, and instead keep it the most restrictive category in the CSA.
According to a recent survey, about 13 of marijuana users said they would return to the illegal market in case cannabis was rescheduled as a prescription-only drug and made available legally.
A recent survey revealed that Joe Biden could gain significant political benefits if marijuana were rescheduled as per his administrative directive. Biden does not directly control the outcome.
He has regularly praised his 2022 scheduling order, as well a a mass pardon that he granted to people who had committed federal marijuana possession crimes. In December , he issued a new and expanded pardon declaration. The Justice Department has begun issuing certificates for those who applied in the second round.
According to one pardoned person, the Vice President Kamala Harris’s office has been reaching out to those who have received a cannabis-pardon to ensure that the certification process at Justice Department is proceeding smoothly. They also engage in broader conversations about cannabis policy reform.
Separately the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently , highlighted its scientific review of marijuana, which led the agency recommend rescheduling. This process involved a thorough analysis of research as well as looking at hundreds posts on social media platforms in order to determine how consumers describe cannabis’ therapeutic impact.
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The post Equity Advocacy ‘Corrects The Record’ on Biden’s Marijuana Acts And Shortcomings of Anticipated Schedule II Move first appeared on Marijuana moment.
