Attorney Sues HHS For Copy Of Biden's Letter Requesting Cannabis Scheduling Review, Does It Exist?

Attorney Matthew C. Zorn filed a complaint Friday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. against the Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS) demanding that it produce a requested copy of the letter issuing the cannabis scheduling review directive.

What happened: About a year ago, 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. Zorn wanted to see the letter so he filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting a copy of the letter.

In August, he received a response that the HHS “conducted a search” and determined “there are no records responsive to your request.”

This is not Zorn’s first foray into the cannabis industry. Some four years ago, Dr. Sue Sisley of the Scottsdale Research Institute filed a lawsuit against the DEA with two Texas-based attorneys, Shane Pennington and Zorn, who took the case pro bono. The suit argues that the DEA is stonewalling life-saving marijuana research, wrote NORML.

Why it matters: In July, during a House Judiciary hearing, Republican Rep. Matt 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 Attorney General to request the scheduling-de-scheduling process to begin.

So, where is the letter?

Zorn's complaint mentions a post on Twitter/now X from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, posted on August 30 (at 4:20) that the HHS provided a scheduling recommendation to DEA.

I can now share that, following the data and science, @HHSGov has responded to @POTUS’ directive to me for the Department to provide a scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA.

We’ve worked to ensure that a scientific evaluation be completed and shared expeditiously. pic.twitter.com/p84x8p07sP

— Secretary Xavier Becerra (@SecBecerra) August 30, 2023

Further in the complaint, Zorn explains why the FOIA request can be considered an “item of public interest.” Among the reasons he mentions are articles and opinion/expert pieces that have been written about the recommendation, Sen. James Lankford and 13 other senators and congress members sent a letter to the DEA demanding that it deny an HHS recommendation to reschedule marijuana to a lower-risk Schedule III drug. At the time, cannabis stocks jumped on the news and many other important developments around it.

“It is unclear whether all these people writing, commenting, investing, bloviating, legislation, or opining on the recommendation have ever seen the document,” the complaint reads. “It appears the remarks are based on bona fide hearsay.”

What’s more, some 10 days ago Senators Cynthia Lummis (R) and Steve Daines (R) presented a bill to block cannabis legalization without congressional approval.

This story was first reported by Marijuana Moment.

What’s next: The court will decide.

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA via Pexels