The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved legislation to block the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to reschedule marijuana and ease restrictions on the drug under federal law. The Republican-led panel approved an amendment to a funding bill that blocks the Department of Justice from acting on the rescheduling plan, which is currently in the midst of a rulemaking process to move cannabis from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to the less restrictive Schedule III.
In October 2022, President Joseph Biden called on his administration to initiate a review of the federal government’s prohibition of marijuana. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally recommended that cannabis be rescheduled under the CSA in August 2023. The recommendation was based on a review of the science behind the medicinal use of cannabis that supported the change to Schedule III, a classification that includes drugs such as Tylenol with codeine and testosterone.
In January, a federal review of cannabis research by HHS determined that marijuana is eligible for less strict classification under federal drug laws. In the review, researchers with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that credible evidence shows that marijuana has legitimate medical uses and fits the criteria for rescheduling under the CSA. [Read More @ Forbes]
Copyright
© Cannabis Business Executive
