The head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says his agency has “communicated” the agency’s “position” on marijuana rescheduling to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and has continued to offer additional information to assist with the final determination. HHS for the first time confirmed that it had recommended moving cannabis from […]| Marijuana Moment
A GOP-led House committee is directing the Biden administration to account for how it arrived at the decision to reschedule marijuana, while also expressing concerns about cannabis-impaired driving and the market for intoxicating hemp-based cannabinoids. In a series of reports attached to 2025 Fiscal Year spending bills being considered by the House Appropriations Committee on […]| Marijuana Moment
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a highly redacted version of a brief letter to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding the agency’s marijuana rescheduling recommendation. The letter, obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Law360 reporter Sam Reisman, confirmed certain previously reported details such […]| Marijuana Moment
A group representing state-level cannabis regulators is calling on the Biden administration and the nation’s top drug enforcement official to provide a clear explanation of how rescheduling marijuana would affect federal enforcement priorities and the U.S. government’s interaction with jurisdictions that regulate cannabis products. In comments to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram about […]| Marijuana Moment
The governor of Kentucky has added his voice to the chorus of people urging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to follow through on the Biden administration’s plan to reschedule marijuana. Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Wednesday submitted a public comment on the proposed rule, which would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of […]| Marijuana Moment
The governors of six U.S. states—Colorado, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Louisiana—sent a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on Tuesday urging the administration to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act by the end of this year. The move, they say, will provide economic and tax benefits for cannabis […]| Marijuana Moment
More than three months after news leaked that the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) was recommending that marijuana be moved to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the agency has finally released a tranche of documents related to its recommendation and the detailed review it undertook on cannabis’s accepted medical […]| Marijuana Moment
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is telling lawmakers that it reserves “the final authority” to make any scheduling decision on marijuana following an ongoing review, regardless of what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommends. In a letter sent to Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), DEA Acting Chief of […]| Marijuana Moment
A coalition of 31 bipartisan House lawmakers has sent a letter to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), urging the agency to take into account congressional and state marijuana legalization efforts as it carries out a review into cannabis scheduling. They also criticized the limitations of simple rescheduling as they push for complete […]| Marijuana Moment
A coalition of 12 Democratic state attorneys general is urging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to move forward with federal marijuana rescheduling, calling the policy change a “public safety imperative.” In a letter led by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) that was sent to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram on Friday, the top state law […]| Marijuana Moment
As the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) weighs a marijuana rescheduling recommendation from health officials, congressional researchers are laying out the limitations of the policy change— emphasizing that state cannabis markets would continue to run afoul of federal law, and existing criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related activity would remain in force. In a report published on […]| Marijuana Moment
Six former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) heads and five former White House drug czars have sent a letter to the attorney general and current DEA administrator, voicing opposition to the top federal health agency’s recommendation to reschedule marijuana. They also made a questionable claim about the relationship between drug schedules and criminal penalties in a […]| Marijuana Moment
A GOP senator is condemning the Biden administration over what he describes as repeated refusals from federal agencies to brief Congress on its plans and justification for rescheduling marijuana, which he argues fuels speculation that the proposed policy change is politically motivated. In a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Department of […]| Marijuana Moment
Republicans in Congress sent a public comment letter this week opposing the Biden administration’s planned rescheduling of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), alleging the government’s recommendation was based on politics rather than science. Led by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), the letter opposing the move of cannabis to Schedule […]| Marijuana Moment
Tens of thousands of people and organizations weighed in on the federal government’s marijuana rescheduling proposal ahead of the close of public comment on Monday night. That includes governors, members of Congress, medical professionals and advocacy groups on either side of the legalization debate, among many others. Some, including a coalition of reform groups, called […]| Marijuana Moment
A GOP congressman who represents California is condemning the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana, as well as legislative efforts to enact bipartisan cannabis banking reform, because he says the policy changes would “prop up this immoral industry” and give a “green light to the evil that comes from drug use.” In a brief speech […]| Marijuana Moment