Did Biden Administration Ever Send Letter Directing Marijuana Scheduling Review? HHS Has No Record Of It

Remember last October when President Biden announced pardons for all federal marijuana possession convictions and called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review cannabis classification under federal law as a Schedule 1 substance? It turns out, the letter issuing the cannabis scheduling review directive never reached HHS. How could this be?

What Happened: Attorney Matthew C. Zorn filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting a copy of the letter. He received a response last week that the HHS “conducted a search” and determined “there are no records responsive to your request.”

Zorn wrote about this on his blog, at the same time urging Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz to “work some FIREBRAND magic and follow up with DEA about the letter,” suggesting Gaetz might have more luck getting it than he did.

During a House Judiciary hearing held last month, Gaetz and Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen pushed the DEA chief on the agency's plans to remove marijuana from its status as a Schedule I drug.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance that the agency has “not been given a specific timeline” to review and reevaluate marijuana’s classification, but committed to requesting one from HHS. At the same time, Miligram explicitly said that President Biden sent the letter to the HHS secretary and to Attorney General to ask for the scheduling-descheduling process to begin.

BREAKING: DEA Administrator Milgram Commits to Pushing @HHSgov to Get A Schedule 1 Marijuana Determination 👇 pic.twitter.com/DwALFEom1D

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) July 27, 2023

Why It Matters: “There are aspects of this process that the public doesn’t need to, and probably shouldn’t, be privy to,” Zorn told Marijuana, Moment on Thursday. “But the basic milestones like the document that starts the process, we should be able to examine. Congress should have it, the public should have it. That’s not asking too much.”

The outlet also reached out to DEA for a comment or explanation, such as for example, a letter has been sent months prior the Biden’s public announcement, but the agency didn’t respond at the time of publishing.

In October, the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) principal deputy commissioner Janet Woodcock called the federal government's marijuana scheduling review a "very high priority" during a webinar organized by the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation (CFCR) and Thompson Coburn LLP.

In March this year, a bipartisan group of 16 congress members led by Representative and Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Earl Blumenauer (D) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Becerra asking for more transparency of marijuana scheduling review.

What’s Next: Miligram told Gaetz that she would ask HHS for an update on the timing of their review. Time will tell if Gaetz or other lawmakers will continue to push for a cannabis scheduling review and perhaps dig up the letter.

See Also: Blumenauer Urges Cannabis Reform For 100th Time: 'Insanity Even Reached The White House'

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by S.Borisov and OpenRangeStock on Shutterstock