Could Marijuana Be A Schedule III Substance? Ex-FDA Official Thinks So

Marijuana could end up being categorized as a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), reported Marijuana Moment, citing a former top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official.

How? Howard Sklamberg, who chaired the FDA's Marijuana Working Group from 2014 to 2017, said that could be a result of President Joe Biden last year's request for a review of marijuana's classification under federal law as a Schedule I drug, the same classification as heroin and LSD.

There is no doubt that cannabis scheduling will be a burning topic among many other issues at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago (Sept. 27-28), where top CEOs, investors, leaders, advocates and politicians will share their thoughts, ideas and experiences.

Sklamberg, who works as an attorney at the firm Arnold & Porter, spoke about a potential marijuana scenario during a Mindset Capital podcast released on Thursday.

He said rescheduling marijuana or maintaining its current Schedule I status "certainly won't happen" following the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) scheduling review.

"I think the most likely outcome will be Schedule III."

How It All Started

President Biden announced pardons for all federal marijuana possession convictions last October and simultaneously called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review cannabis classification under federal law as a Schedule 1 substance.

FDA principal deputy commissioner Janet Woodcock reacted swiftly, calling 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 October.

Is HHS Top Official Stalling?

As months went by, with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra seemingly stalling the process, a group of top lawmakers took the matter into their own hands.

Sixteen bipartisan congressional lawmakers 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 in March urging them to make marijuana scheduling review available to the public.

In June, Becerra said HHS is working to complete an administrative review of cannabis scheduling and aims to present President Joe Biden with a federal cannabis scheduling decision "this year."

However, a letter issuing the cannabis scheduling review directive never reached HHS.

Attorney Matthew C. Zorn recently filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting a copy of the letter. He received a response earlier this month that the HHS "conducted a search" and determined "there are no records responsive to your request."

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