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MARIJUANA MOMENT
ATTORNEY GENERAL FORMALLY MOVES TO RESCHEDULE MARIJUANA, BUT DEA SIGNALS
RESISTANCE DESPITE DOJ LEGAL REVIEW
* Politics
* Attorney General Formally Moves To Reschedule Marijuana, But DEA Signals
Resistance Despite DOJ Legal Review
* Biden Makes Historic Marijuana Rescheduling Announcement, Applauding
‘Monumental’ Move To Reverse ‘Longstanding Inequities’
* Federal Marijuana Prohibition Makes Youth Prevention Efforts ‘More
Difficult,’ Top Anti-Drug Group Official Says
* After Accidentally Legalizing Intoxicating Hemp Products, Louisiana Is On
Track To Outlaw Them Again
* Congressional Researchers Update Lawmakers On ‘Legal Consequences’ Of
Federal Marijuana Prohibition In Light Of Rescheduling Effort
* Science & Health
* Psychedelic Mushrooms Won’t Make You Believe In God, But They Might Make
You Think Robots Are Conscious, Study Finds
* Cannabis Can Help Treat Female Orgasmic Disorder, Study Finds As Ohio
Officials Consider Adding It As Qualifying Condition
* Interaction Of Marijuana Terpenes And Cannabinoids Offers ‘Hope’ For
‘Novel’ Treatments, Study Says
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Paranoia, Study Finds
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The Marijuana Holiday
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4/20 That He’d ‘Offer To You’ On Governor’s Mansion Visit
* Colorado Amendment Addresses Concerns On Banning Social Media Marijuana
Posts, But Questions On Psychedelics And Other Drugs Remain
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Fulfilling A ‘Lifelong Dream’
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Smoke Weed’ For $70,420 Salary
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Touting ‘Historical Highs’ On 4/20 Weekend
* Massachusetts Saw Record-Breaking Marijuana Sales On 4/20, Pushing State
Across $6 Billion Mark For Recreational Purchases
* Legal Marijuana Purchases In Michigan Spiked In March, Reaching A New
Record High
* Video
* Biden Makes Historic Marijuana Rescheduling Announcement, Applauding
‘Monumental’ Move To Reverse ‘Longstanding Inequities’
* GOP Congresswoman Applauds Marijuana Rescheduling But Urges Top Biden
Official To Refrain From Decriminalizing Other Drugs
* Florida Marijuana Campaign Releases Four Ads To Build Support For
Legalization Ballot Initiative Amid Underwhelming Polls
* Ohio Lawmakers Approve Rules Allowing Adult-Use Marijuana Sales To Start
Next Month
* New Hampshire Senate President Says He Hopes Marijuana Legalization Bill
Dies In His Chamber
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* Hemp & marijuana biz disagree on Farm Bill (Newsletter: May 16, 2024)
* Congress considers ending cannabis tests for military recruits
(Newsletter: May 15, 2024)
* Ohio cannabis sales set to launch early (Newsletter: May 14, 2024)
* DEA questions “medical” cannabis despite rescheduling move (Newsletter:
May 13, 2024)
* Wisconsin could legalize cannabis after election, governor says
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POLITICS
ATTORNEY GENERAL FORMALLY MOVES TO RESCHEDULE MARIJUANA, BUT DEA SIGNALS
RESISTANCE DESPITE DOJ LEGAL REVIEW
Published
3 seconds ago
on
May 16, 2024
By
Kyle Jaeger
The Justice Department announced on Thursday that Attorney General Merrick
Garland has formally initiated the process to reschedule marijuana—releasing
DOJ’s proposed rule and a separate legal opinion that informed the decision but
which also seemed to signal skepticism from the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA).
Shortly after President Joe Biden announced that the administration is moving to
reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act
(CSA), DOJ said Garland “has submitted to the Federal Register a notice of
proposed rulemaking initiating a formal rulemaking process.”
It included both the proposed rule that will be published in the Federal
Register, kicking off a 60-day public comment period, as well as an Office of
Legal Council (OLC) opinion that generally supported the rescheduling action
from a legal perspective.
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Marijuana Can Help Increase Orgasm Frequency & Satisfaction For Women
A recent study shows the benefits of cannabis, including increased orgasm
frequency, enhanced satisfaction, and greater ease in reaching orgasm. The
survey of 387 women found that more than half (52 percent) said they experienced
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Women with female orgasmic disorder (FOD) have more mental health issues. They
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about pleasure, it’s about a human right.” The new research reflects those
observations: Women with FOD reported 24% more mental health issues than women
without FOD. “Among respondents reporting orgasm difficulty, cannabis use
before partnered sex increased orgasm frequency, improved orgasm satisfaction or
made orgasm easier,” the study found. Regardless of sex or gender, there’s
growing evidence that marijuana can improve sexual function. One study found
that more than 70% of surveyed adults said cannabis before sex increased desire
and improved orgasms. A 2020 study meanwhile found that women who used cannabis
more often had better sex.
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Much of the narrative included in both documents suggests that the Justice
Department exercised its authority to make a scheduling determination despite
DEA, which has historically been delegated rescheduling authority, seemingly
pushing back on the criteria used to justify the modest reform. Moving marijuana
to Schedule III would not federally legalize it, but it would recognize that
cannabis has some accepted medical value and a relatively low abuse potential.
The draft rule points out that, following a scientific review directed by Biden,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concluded that a Schedule
III reclassification was appropriate. However, “DEA has not yet made a
determination as to its views of the appropriate schedule for marijuana.”
“The CSA vests the Attorney General with the authority to schedule, reschedule,
or decontrol drugs,” it says. “The Attorney General has delegated that authority
to the DEA Administrator, but also retains the authority to schedule drugs under
the CSA in the first instance.”
“The HHS Assistant Secretary for Health has provided a recommendation for
transferring marijuana to schedule III,” it says. “In light of that
recommendation, the Attorney General is exercising the Attorney General’s
authority under 21 U.S.C. 811(a) to initiate a rulemaking that proposes the
placement of marijuana in schedule III.”
The rule goes through the eight-factor drug scheduling analysis, detailing HHS’s
findings on each of the criterion such as abuse potential, pharmacological
effects, public health risks, dependence liability and more.
“Overall, these data demonstrate that, although marijuana is associated with a
high prevalence of abuse, the profile of and propensity for serious outcomes
related to that abuse lead to a conclusion that marijuana is most appropriately
controlled in schedule III under the CSA,” it says.
“After considering the foregoing facts and data and the recommendation of HHS,
and after according binding weight to HHS’s scientific and medical
determinations, the Attorney General concludes that there is, at present,
substantial evidence that marijuana does not warrant control under schedule I of
the CSA.”
Notably, the proposed rule clarifies that the rescheduling action “would not
apply to synthetically derived THC, which is outside the CSA’s definition of
marijuana.” Also, it explains that cannabis would continue to be subject to the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), which means cannabis products would
require Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in order to be lawfully
introduced into interstate commerce.
FDA typically does not grant such approval to botanical substances; instead, it
has so far only authorized the use of synthetic THC or CBD-derived medications
as prescription drugs for certain conditions.
To that end, DOJ emphasized that marijuana would continue to be considered
federally illegal, and cannabis-related activity would continue to be
criminalized, even if it is rescheduled.
“If marijuana is transferred to schedule III, the regulatory controls applicable
to schedule III controlled substances would apply, as appropriate, along with
existing marijuana-specific requirements and any additional controls that might
be implemented, including those that might be implemented to meet U.S. treaty
obligations. The manufacture, distribution, dispensing, and possession of
marijuana would also remain subject to applicable criminal prohibitions under
the CSA.”
At several points throughout the document, it notes that DEA believes
“additional information” that could be collected via public comment or a
possible administrative hearing could influence the final scheduling decision.
Adding to questions about a possible disconnect between DOJ and DEA over the
proposal is the fact that the attorney general, rather than the DEA
administrator, signed the draft rule.
It was previously reported that certain DEA officials have been “at odds” with
the Biden administration over the rescheduling push.
“Based on the legal opinion of OLC and consideration of the scientific and
medical evaluation and accompanying recommendation of HHS, the Attorney General
is initiating a rulemaking that proposes the placement of marijuana in schedule
III of the CSA,” the proposed rule says. “DOJ is soliciting comments on this
proposal.”
A key component of the Justice Department’s rationale for the rescheduling
proposal came from a legal analysis from OLC, which considered questions about
DEA’s standards for assessing medical value, HHS’s revised review process and
potential implications of rescheduling on international treaty obligations, for
example.
OLC concluded that “DEA’s current approach to determining whether a drug has a
[currently accepted medical use (CAMU)] is impermissibly narrow, and that
satisfying HHS’s two-part inquiry is sufficient to establish that a drug has a
CAMU even if the drug has not been approved by FDA and would not satisfy DEA’s
five-part test.”
It also determined that HHS’s rescheduling recommendation is binding on DEA—but
only until a formal rulemaking process is initiated. But even after that point,
“DEA must continue to accord HHS’s scientific and medical determinations
significant deference.”
Finally, it concluded that neither the United Nations (UN) Single Convention
treaty nor the CSA require DEA to keep marijuana in either Schedule I or
Schedule II, as the agency has asserted in previous rejections of rescheduling
petitions such as a 2016 denial.
“Both the Single Convention and the CSA allow DEA to satisfy the United States’
international obligations by supplementing scheduling decisions with regulatory
action, at least in circumstances where there is a modest gap between the
Convention’s requirements and the specific restrictions that follow from a
drug’s placement on a particular schedule,” OLC said. “As a result, DEA may
satisfy the United States’ Single Convention obligations by placing marijuana in
Schedule III while imposing additional restrictions pursuant to the CSA’s
regulatory authorities.”
Certain conservative congressional lawmakers and prohibitionist groups have
insisted that cannabis cannot be placed in Schedule III without violating
international treaty obligations.
The documents are being released about two weeks after the Justice Department
confirmed that DEA was moving to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug.
The public comment period that will soon open is expected to receive historic
attention given widespread public support for broad legalization and competing
perspectives about the appropriateness of a Schedule III designation.
On the one hand, many advocates have welcomed the rescheduling determination,
given that it represents the first time in over 50 years that the federal
government has recognized the medical value and relatively low abuse potential
of a plant that’s been legalized in some form in the vast majority of states.
On the other hand, activists have emphasized that rescheduling does not
federally legalize marijuana or provide corrective relief to people who’ve been
criminalized over it. And, of course, prohibitionists have urged DEA to keep
marijuana in Schedule I and are expected to litigate if the agency moves forward
with the incremental reform.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram has also acknowledged the possibility of an
administrative hearing to gain further input on the decision before its
finalized.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has also weighed in on the rescheduling
development, saying in a report that while it was “likely” that DEA would enact
the policy change, that would not bring state markets into compliance with
federal law. It added that Congress still has the authority to address the
federal-state cannabis policy gap “before or after” that reform is enacted.
To that end, 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.
It should also be noted that, 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.
> Federal Marijuana Prohibition Makes Youth Prevention Efforts ‘More Difficult,’
> Top Anti-Drug Group Official Says
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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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