Republicans are making a last push against the finalization of the Biden administration’s move to reschedule marijuana, despite advocates saying the fight isn’t worth the effort.
The White House in May began the formal rulemaking process to move marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) — drugs considered to have the highest potential for abuse, with no accepted medical use — to Schedule III, drugs considered to have a “moderate to low potential” for physical and psychological dependence.
The comment period for this rule ended last week, with an analysis finding more than 40,000 comments had been submitted, a majority in favor of the change.
Among the comments was a 42-page letter from 11 GOP state attorneys general, speaking out against the move to reschedule.
In their letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the attorneys general acknowledged that rescheduling doesn’t remove the roadblocks keeping the marijuana industry from being fully integrated into the U.S. economy but argued it is a step toward “normalizing” marijuana businesses.
They cited five specific reasons why marijuana should not be rescheduled: The proposed rule was not signed by Anne Milgram, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); rescheduling would violate the U.S.’s international treaty obligations; the proposed rule wrongly asserts that “significant deference” is owed to the determination made by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); prior refusals by the DEA to reschedule were decided using the same essential facts in favor of rescheduling; and the decision to reschedule did not satisfy the conditions set by the CSA.
[Read more at The Hill]Copyright
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