Congressional researchers recently published an explainer on the implications of marijuana being classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law and options for Congress to change that.<\/p>\n
The report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) was released the day after President Joe Biden issued a mass cannabis pardon<\/a> for Americans who\u2019ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses and directed an administrative review of cannabis scheduling.<\/p>\n As CRS explains, Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act are \u201cconsidered the most dangerous and addictive,\u201d with no established medical value. Marijuana shares the category with drugs like heroin and LSD.<\/p>\n The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) \u201cprohibits the manufacture, distribution, dispensation, and possession of Schedule I substances except for federal government-approved research studies,\u201d the report says. \u201cThe Schedule I status of marijuana means that the substance is strictly regulated by federal authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n While cannabis has been classified as Schedule I for decades, that hasn\u2019t stop the majority of states from legalizing the plant and its constituents in some form, including 19 states that have legalized it for adult use.<\/p>\n Still, federal prohibition has loomed large over state-level conversations about enacting reform, with many opponents citing the federal ban to support maintaining the status quo. Marijuana\u2019s Schedule I status has also inhibited research\u2014a point that scientists like National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow say is reason enough to reevaluate its scheduling<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where Biden\u2019s directive comes in. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has received and denied multiple requests<\/a> to initiate a scheduling review, as the CRS report details, but a mandate from the president carries significantly more weight.<\/p>\n To that end, the Justice Department and U.S. Department and Health and Human Services (HHS) have committed to expeditiously carrying out the scientific review<\/a>, which could result in a recommendation to place cannabis in a lower schedule or remove it altogether, effectively legalizing the plant.<\/p>\n CRS outlined select problems related to the ongoing federal-state marijuana policy gap, as well as options for Congress to address the issue.<\/p>\n The report says the policy disconnect has impacted \u201chow financial institutions may provide banking services to marijuana-related businesses and how the Schedule I status has reportedly created difficulty for researchers who seek to study marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, individuals in violation of federal marijuana laws, even when they are using marijuana consistent with state laws, can be potentially subject to consequences affecting their eligibility for housing and food assistance, gun ownership, visas, and employment,\u201d CRS said. \u201cPresident Biden cited some of these factors as contributing to his decision to issue pardons for prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. Hear from @POTUS<\/a> on the three steps he is taking to right these wrongs. pic.twitter.com\/IqOxHxjgue<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 6, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n While the president\u2019s action has been widely celebrated by advocates, many have pushed for expanded reform, as the clemency only impacts about 6,500 people who\u2019ve committed the federal possession offense and those who\u2019ve violated the law in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) detailed the demographics of those who received a pardon<\/a> in a recent analysis.<\/p>\n Multiple groups, including immigrants and those who\u2019ve been charged with selling marijuana, were excluded from the presidential pardon<\/a>. CRS pointed out that most federal cannabis convictions were related to trafficking, rather than simple possession.<\/p>\n Biden isn\u2019t the only one who can affect a marijuana policy change, the report says.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth Congress and the Administration have the ability to alter marijuana\u2019s status as a Schedule I substance,\u201d CRS said. And while Biden and the relevant agencies must factor in the science of marijuana in making a scheduling decision, the same does not apply to Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Biden\u2019s announcement of federal marijuana policy reforms did not itself change the status of marijuana as a Schedule I substance,\u201d it said. \u201cInstead, he directed DOJ and HHS to begin an expeditious review of its status. Congress can also alter marijuana\u2019s status by amending the CSA but without such confines.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThose questioning its status have expressed support for, at minimum, moving it to a lower schedule. Some have gone further and supported its removal from the CSA altogether,\u201d it continues. \u201cThose continuing to support its Schedule I status express concern over negative implications of its widespread use.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are the options for Congress, according to CRS:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Amend the CSA to move marijuana to a less restrictive schedule.<\/p>\n 2. Create an entirely new schedule or other category for marijuana.<\/p>\n 3. Remove it entirely from the CSA.<\/p>\n \u201cIf marijuana remains a controlled substance under the CSA under any schedule, that would maintain the existing conflict between the federal government and states that have legalized recreational marijuana, though moving marijuana to a less restrictive schedule could help mitigate conflicts between federal law and state medical marijuana laws,\u201d the report says. \u201cThe creation of a new schedule solely for marijuana would give Congress an opportunity to modify the criminality of marijuana under the CSA.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCongress chose to remove marijuana from the CSA entirely, it could seek to regulate and tax commercial marijuana activities,\u201d CRS concludes<\/a>.<\/p>\n While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation to deschedule marijuana, it seems highly unlikely that such a proposal will advance by the end of this Congress, and so the focus for leadership has been on developing a package of incremental cannabis proposals that can pass this year.<\/p>\n Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said this week that he feels Congress has a \u201cgood shot\u201d of accomplishing that legislative feat<\/a> during the lame duck session after next month\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n In the interim, the administration will be working on the scheduling issue, and several Cabinet officials have talked about the importance of the reform since the president made his surprise announcement this month.<\/p>\n HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has said officials will \u201cwork as quickly as we can\u201d to complete the analysis<\/a> of cannabis scheduling per the president\u2019s directive.<\/p>\n DOJ, for its part, \u201cwill expeditiously administer the President\u2019s proclamation, which pardons individuals who engaged in simple possession of marijuana, restoring political, civil, and other rights to those convicted of that offense,\u201d a department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said that officials will be working diligently to ensure that people who received a pardon for federal marijuana offenses under the presidential proclamation\u00a0are not impeded from future job opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vice President Kamala Harris said last week that voters should elect lawmakers who support marijuana reform so that Congress can enact a \u201cuniform approach\u201d to the issue in light of the president\u2019s cannabis pardons<\/a>.<\/p>\n A series of polls have shown that Americans\u00a0strongly support the president\u2019s pardon action<\/a>, and they also don\u2019t think that marijuana should be federally classified as a Schedule I drug.<\/p>\n U.S. Congressional Delegation To Colombia Talks Marijuana Legalization And \u2018Failed American Policies\u2019 On Drugs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Congressional Researchers Lay Out Marijuana Options For Lawmakers Following Biden\u2019s Scheduling Directive<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Congressional researchers recently published an explainer on the implications of marijuana being classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law and options for Congress to change that. The report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) was released the day after President Joe Biden issued a mass cannabis pardon forContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57646,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57645\/revisions\/57646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Congressional Researchers Lay Out Marijuana Options For Lawmakers Following Biden\u2019s Scheduling Directive<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"