Federal Agency Finally Releases Info On Cannabis Rescheduling Suggestions To DEA, Most Important Data Redacted

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) released more details regarding its recommendation to the DEA to reclassify cannabis to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). On Thursday, attorneys Shane Pennington and Matt Zorn released 250 pages of redacted documents on their blog On Drugs.

The documents came some three months following the HHS' recommendation.

In August, Zorn filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting a copy of the letter. He received a response last week that the HHS had “conducted a search” and determined “there are no records responsive to your request.” In October, Zorn filed a complaint in the DC District Court against the HHS demanding a requested copy of the letter issuing the cannabis scheduling review directive.

“We haven’t had a chance to wade through it all,” Pennington and Zorn wrote, “but are putting it up here now and will follow up as soon as we’ve studied everything more deeply.”

Out of 252 pages, only 2 were released in their entirety. The rest were significantly redacted.

Alesia Y. Williams, HHS’ director of FOIA appeals and litigation said in a letter to Zorn that portions of the documents were redacted, under Exemption 5 of the FOIA which exempts “intra-agency memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.”

Cannabis is currently categorized by the DEA as a Schedule 1 substance along with heroin, LSD, ecstasy, etc. In August, the HHS recommended that marijuana be placed in the same category as ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone, acknowledging that it indeed has medical value.

See Also: How Does Cannabis Reclassification To Schedule III Differ From De-Scheduling & What Is Ideal Reform? Legal Expert Explains

Most Important Data Redacted

“This document is intended to analyze and present relevant data and make a determination as to whether marijuana is considered to have CAMU [currently accepted medical use] in the United States under the CSA,” HHS officials wrote.

In the section titled “Definitions Relevant to the Analysis of Whether Marijuana has a CAMU,” the HHS acknowledged that “cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated crops, providing a source of fiber, food, oil.” It also differentiates cannabis from hemp.

“In analyzing current patterns of use and abuse of marijuana and marijuana-derived products, epidemiological databases were analyzed from 2015 to the most recent years of available data.

“Determining the abuse potential of a substance is complex with many dimensions and no single test or assessment provides a complete characterization. Thus, no single measure of abuse potential is ideal.”

As Marijuana Moment’s Ben Adlin concludes, the most important parts of the documents were withheld.

Earlier this week, six US governors urged President Biden to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III by the end of 2023.

Photo: Courtesy of Kindel Media via Pexels