Senators Booker, Schumer, Wyden And Four More Dems Urge DOJ, DEA To Reschedule Marijuana

A group of the U.S. senators are yet again pushing Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA administrator Anne Milgram to reschedule marijuana.

Senators Reiterate Support For Marijuana Reclassification

In a letter made public on Friday, the senators expressed their support for the DEA's proposal to transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

"We write to express support for the Drug Enforcement Administration's proposal to transfer marijuana from schedule I to schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act," U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

"The proposed rule to reclassify marijuana to schedule III recognizes the medical benefits of marijuana, will improve access for studying the health effects of short and long-term cannabis use, and will provide relief to cannabis businesses that continue to navigate a patchwork regulatory system to conduct legal business," the senators said.

Read Also: EXCLUSIVE: We Analyzed 4,000+ DEA Marijuana Rescheduling Comments; Here’s What Americans Really Think

Why It Matters

Much like a letter sent by a coalition of 20 U.S. Democratic lawmakers earlier this year, the new letter stressed the urgency of the matter.

Why? "Rescheduling presents significant benefits to public health, research, business, and Americans harmed by the lasting effects of our punitive drug policies," the lawmakers wrote this August. "It will also bolster cannabis-related businesses, many of which are owned by people criminalized for marijuana offenses, opening them up to critical investment opportunities."

This new push also follows an October 2023 letter from over 30 bipartisan House lawmakers to DEA's Milgram, urging the agency to fully deschedule cannabis during its ongoing review.

Background

The letter also reiterated all the steps the government's agencies have taken following a historic October 2022 push from President Joe Biden. At the time he directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General "to initiate the administrative review process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law," the letter said. "In 2023, after undertaking the eight-factor analysis required under the CSA, HHS found, and recommended to DEA, that marijuana did not meet the criteria to continue classification as a Schedule I substance and that it be transferred to Schedule III."

HHS also conducted a two-part inquiry to take into consideration the Current Accepted Medical Use (CAMU) of marijuana, resulting in a conclusion that it has a CAMU to treat pain, anorexia, nausea and vomiting, among other ailments, without posing ‘unacceptably high safety risks,' as highlighted in Friday’s press release.

This May, Biden said his administration is officially moving to reclassify marijuana under federal law, as a Schedule III substance through the DEA.

Additionally, the lawmakers urged the passing of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which was reintroduced by Sen Booker, Schumer and Wyden earlier this year. That measure seeks to put an end to federal prohibition and set up a federal regulatory framework that prioritizes restorative justice and public health.

Read Next:

• DEA, 18 GOP State Attorneys General Want Public Hearing On Cannabis Rescheduling As Deadline Looms