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MARIJUANA MOMENT
WHITE HOUSE DRUG CZAR CONDEMNS ‘FAILED POLICIES’ OF MARIJUANA PROHIBITION AND
SAYS RESCHEDULING WILL SPEED UP LEGAL DRUG DEVELOPMENT
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* White House Drug Czar Condemns ‘Failed Policies’ Of Marijuana Prohibition
And Says Rescheduling Will Speed Up Legal Drug Development
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After Repeatedly Claiming They Did
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‘Public Menace’
* Florida Lawyer Who Funded Medical Marijuana Campaign Backs This Year’s
Recreational Legalization Ballot Measure
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Across $6 Billion Mark For Recreational Purchases
* Legal Marijuana Purchases In Michigan Spiked In March, Reaching A New
Record High
* Video
* White House Drug Czar Condemns ‘Failed Policies’ Of Marijuana Prohibition
And Says Rescheduling Will Speed Up Legal Drug Development
* Biden Finally Acknowledges His Marijuana Pardons Did Not Expunge Records
After Repeatedly Claiming They Did
* New Hampshire Marijuana Legalization Bill Headed To Conference Committee
After House Rejects Senate Amendments
* Florida Lawyer Who Funded Medical Marijuana Campaign Backs This Year’s
Recreational Legalization Ballot Measure
* Texas Activists Turn In Signatures To Put Marijuana Decriminalization On
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* Newsletter
* Biden admits cannabis expungements still needed (Newsletter: May 31, 2024)
* Cannabis advocates divided on NH legalization vote (Newsletter: May 30,
2024)
* White House official misstates cannabis rescheduling impact (Newsletter:
May 29, 2024)
* DEA says THCA is not legal hemp (Newsletter: May 28, 2024)
* NH legal cannabis bill heads to final vote (Newsletter: May 27, 2024)
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POLITICS
WHITE HOUSE DRUG CZAR CONDEMNS ‘FAILED POLICIES’ OF MARIJUANA PROHIBITION AND
SAYS RESCHEDULING WILL SPEED UP LEGAL DRUG DEVELOPMENT
Published
3 seconds ago
on
May 31, 2024
By
Kyle Jaeger
The White House drug czar is continuing to tout the Biden administration’s move
to reschedule marijuana, criticizing the “failed policies” of prohibition that
have “destroyed lives,” while touting the research potential of the reform to
develop cannabis-based medications.
Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),
discussed the rescheduling efforts during an interview with the Mo News Podcast
that was posted on Tuesday.
“We’ve had, when it comes to marijuana, failed policies for more than half a
century, because of which way too many lives have been upended,” he said. “We
have had a failed approach where we have so many people incarcerated because of
it and so many people, their lives have been basically destroyed.”
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in 2024. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
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Gupta aligned himself with President Joe Biden’s position that nobody should be
jailed over marijuana possession or use, pointing out that such a conviction can
impact housing and job opportunities.
Moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances
Act (CSA), as the administration is proposing, would not legalize cannabis,
however. So people could still face those collateral consequences, even for
simple possession, if it is merely reclassified. However, as Gupta pointed out,
the reform will remove certain research barriers that could potentially
streamline drug development.
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“We’ve got to make sure that we are following science and analyzing substances
for potential benefit, especially with the data that exists,” he said, adding
that with a Schedule III designation, “there will be drugs that will be
developed that will have to go through [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)]
approval process and all of that.”
“But it does allow the recognition of the medical uses,” he said. “More
importantly, it also allows the opening of research. It’s critical because the
research for over half a century has been lacking significantly in this field to
see the current and more benefits in the future—more product developments. We
may have new products that may be able to help with or cure diseases.”
“It also will help people with chronic conditions like cancer or chronic pain or
others as well,” he said, adding that under Schedule I, it’s a “catch-22
situation” where people are seeking more research to demonstrate the medical
utility of cannabis but face obstacles to conducting such research.
“There will be systems in the future that will be developed that will probably
be less expensive and more legal, you can say, in that sense, because it will be
through a Schedule III regime that will be there,” he said.
Of course, the idea that companies will prioritize cannabis-derived drug
development with a Schedule III reclassification is only a theoretical
possibility. FDA has already approved synthetic THC and CBD-based medications
for certain conditions, and it’s possible that the reduced research barriers
could lead to additional approvals down the line. But it is unlikely that FDA
would approve marijuana in botanical form as a prescription drug, so the
products available in commercial markets would continue to be illegal and
unapproved for interstate commerce.
A report published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) earlier this
month also clarified that further action from FDA would be needed before
marijuana products become available by prescription.
Gupta oversimplified the idea of marijuana’s potential availability as a
prescription drug in another recent interview. And he’s also mistakenly
suggested that rescheduling would address the “racial disparity” in cannabis
enforcement.
One of the more confusing parts of Gupta’s latest interview came when he was
asked whether Congress should follow the lead of states and federally legalize
marijuana. The ONDCP director didn’t directly answer the question but said part
of Biden’s reasoning for orchestrating the administrative scheduling review was
because “he did wait on Congress, and movement did not happen.”
As the White House has repeatedly clarified, Biden does not support federal
marijuana legalization, even if he backs the right of states to set their own
cannabis policies. He hasn’t publicly said that the scheduling review directive
was a response to congressional inaction; rather, he’s characterized it as an
example of fulfilling a campaign promise.
“Of course, Congress has the ability to move forward in any way it wants to,”
Gupta said. “But at the same time, we just can’t stay still because too many
lives are at stake, both from the criminal justice system and also from the
benefits of it.”
“It’s important that, as an administration, we’re doing what can be possible
from administration standpoint,” he said. “It’s both evidence-guided, as well as
guided by law that currently exists to take this process on and ensure that
we’re doing everything possible when it comes to, again, this policy that has
been in place for decades and decades and has not helped the American people.”
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters
pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and
hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to
get access.
—
A former drug czar who served under President Barack Obama recently took a
sharply different position on marijuana rescheduling than Gupta. Former ONDCP
Director Gil Kerlikowske recently said that cannabis is “not medicine” and that
rescheduling was “all Big Cannabis.”
“This isn’t people my age that are just old hippies that want to open up a pot
shop somewhere” Kerlikowske said on the podcast of former U.S. Rep. Mary Bono
(R). “This is a huge business like Big Tobacco. Absolutely.”
Meanwhile, the proposed rule to federally reschedule marijuana was officially
posted last week, kicking off a public comment period that’s expected to elicit
a major response from supporters and opponents of cannabis reform.
Marijuana reform advocates and stakeholders have made clear that they intend to
leverage the opportunity, with some planning to support the reclassification
while others intend to call for descheduling cannabis altogether.
Prohibitionists are expected to oppose the incremental policy change and seek to
keep marijuana in Schedule I, and there’s also a looming threat of litigation.
While DOJ will take all public comments submitted by July 22 into consideration
as it weighs the reform, it said in the notice that one of the topics its
especially interested in hearing about is the “unique economic impacts” of the
rescheduling proposal given that state-level legalization has created a
“multibillion dollar industry” that stands to benefit from possible federal tax
relief under the reform.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and colleagues
have reintroduced legislation to federally legalize cannabis and impose certain
regulations. The bill’s prospects are dubious in the current divided Congress,
however.
Meanwhile, the top Democrat in the U.S. House said that the Biden
administration’s move to reschedule marijuana is a “step in the right
direction,” but it should be followed up with congressional action such as
passing the legalization bill Schumer filed.
In a recent interview with Fox News, former DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson
said it “absolutely looks like” the agency will follow through with moving
marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA.
Biden has separately issued two rounds of mass pardons for people who’ve
committed federal marijuana possession offenses. Again, a Schedule III
reclassification would not legalize cannabis or free people still incarcerated
over cannabis.
During his run for the presidency, Biden pledged to move cannabis to Schedule
II—a stricter category compared to what’s been proposed by his administration.
> Biden Finally Acknowledges His Marijuana Pardons Did Not Expunge Records After
> Repeatedly Claiming They Did
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Related Topics:featured
Don't Miss
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Kyle Jaeger
Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has
also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn.
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