Cross-Political Coalition To Biden: Deschedule Cannabis, Don't Just Rebrand Federal Criminalization

Two political coalitions, the left-leaning Marijuana Justice Coalition and the conservative Cannabis Freedom Alliance have united to urge President Joe Biden to fulfill his campaign promise by removing marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The coalition, which includes organizations ranging from the ACLU to Americans for Prosperity, argues that only by completely de-scheduling marijuana can the president deliver on his decriminalization pledge.

"We are writing with a unified voice," they wrote to Biden on Thursday, "to emphasize that only by descheduling marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) can you fulfill your promise to the American people regarding cannabis decriminalization."

The groups argue that an August proposal by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommending that the DEA move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the CSA is insufficient, reported Marijuana Moment (MM).

The advocacy groups maintain that such a move would continue federal criminalization and not address the public’s overwhelming support for an end to cannabis criminalization.

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The coalitions, which are pressing for complete removal of marijuana from the CSA thus allowing state regulations to operate without federal interference, suggest that Biden should work with Congress on establishing a federal regulatory framework. They caution against simply rebranding federal marijuana criminalization.

"Any action to move marijuana to another CSA schedule rather than removing it would simply maintain federal criminalization of these programs, licensed companies, and individuals operating in a fully legal manner under existing state rules and regulations," the groups wrote. "Further, this mere change of scheduling classification as opposed to descheduling would not alleviate existing distrust in law enforcement around cannabis given the supermajority public support for ending criminalization."

This push for descheduling is backed by bipartisan congressional efforts; 31 House members recently called on the DEA to consider full descheduling.

The advocacy groups' effort underscores a growing consensus across the political divide for marijuana reform. They argue that failure to act would be a political misstep given the organized cross-ideological support for ending marijuana criminalization.

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The urgency of this message is compounded by recent legislative attempts by some Republican lawmakers who called on the DEA to dismiss HHS's recommendation and maintain marijuana’s restrictive CSA classification, which puts cannabis in the same category as heroin, meth and LSD. It also defines marijuana as having no known medical benefits.

In October six former DEA heads and five former White House drug czars sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DEA's Anne Milgram arguing against reclassifying marijuana.

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Photo: Adam Schultz on Wikimedia Commons and David Smart on Shutterstock