Although the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, won’t be committing to complete a scientific review of marijuana’s federal scheduling status before the official cannabis holiday on 4/20, he did state that the process will consider shifts in the meaning of marijuana to Americans over the past several decades.
During an interview with KDKA TV, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra spoke about his agency’s involvement in a cannabis scheduling review the president had directed last year. The interview aired Monday.
Many advocates are wondering how long it will take for the Food and Drug Administration to complete its review. Biden administration officials used the term “expeditiously” several times, but declined to give a precise timeline.
Becerra smiled when asked if HHS would announce its decision before April 20.
“It’s gotto go through a lot of hoops, and again, safety and efficacy will drive this determination,” said the secretary. He has also been known to play into Twitter symbolism.
Becerra reiterated his previous statements that the department’s review would be based on science and safety for Americans. But he also stated that the assessment will consider “whether or not” there has been any change in the meaning of cannabis to America since the early 1990s.
This part of the review should be relatively easy, given that marijuana was not legal in any state until 1996. There are now 37 states with medical marijuana programs and 21 states where it is legal for adult use.
Polling also shows that support for legalizing cannabis is much higher than it was in the early 1990s. However, nearly seven out ten Americans favor full legalization.
Although it is not clear what weight these datapoints will be given in the scheduling recommendation HHS makes to the Justice Department after its review, it is interesting that Becerra’s recent comments suggest that the agency appears to be taking into account those dynamics.
In a letter to the Congressional Cannabis Caucus , the secretary stated that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will make the final determination on marijuana scheduling.
The letter reiterated the key point FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock made shortly after President Joe Biden’s October directive was issued. It also included a mass pardon for federal marijuana possession offenders.
FDA will review the submissions under HHS’s supervision. The findings of that review are binding, but only to the extent the science is concerned. The Controlled Substances Act covers scheduling decisions, but it is up to DEA to make the final call. DEA could decide to keep marijuana in Schedule I.
Woodcock , FDA’s chief of staff, said similarly that DEA “has all the final word” regarding any scheduling decisions made after their review.
This month, more than 12 bipartisan congressional legislators sent a letter to Becerra and U.S. attorney General Merrick Garland requesting transparency in the cannabis scheduling review.
According to the letter, Biden’s scheduling directive is “an opportunity for honest assessment of origins and consequences of federal policy,” adding that marijuana was “stigma not science” and that it’s now “time to address marijuana’s current reality as a state-regulated substance.”
Separately, Garland stated at a Senate hearing that DOJ “still working on marijuana policy” while waiting for the results of the scientific review by health agencies.
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The post Top Federal Official in Health won’t commit to Marijuana Review by 4/20, but Says that Public Opinion will Inform Decision appeared originally on Marijuana moment.
