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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says it\u2019s time to \u201cjoin the 21st century\u201d and legalize marijuana\u2014but Stephen Colbert didn\u2019t let it go unnoticed that she declined to answer his question about whether was high herself during an appearance on The Late Show on Monday.<\/p>\n
Colbert asked the senator a two-part question on cannabis: How is marijuana descheduling distinct from legalization? And \u201care you high right now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Warren, a longstanding advocate for marijuana legalization who recently led a letter with 11 colleagues imploring the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to deschedule cannabis<\/a>, took the first question.<\/p>\n \u201cThe answer is legalization is what you could do if you had a functional Congress,\u201d she said. \u201cWell, that\u2019s not the world we live in. So descheduling is something the administration could do without going to Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n In general, advocates consider descheduling synonymous with legalization, as it means removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) entirely, which would remove associated criminal penalties, effectively legalizing it.<\/p>\n However, Warren seems to be making a more nuanced point about the difference between descheduling and legalization that comes with a regulatory framework for sales, which is something that would ostensibly require congressional action.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now marijuana is scheduled, it\u2019s called, as a drug by the DEA at the same risk as heroin,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that means not only is it illegal, you can\u2019t even do research on it. It\u2019s so no\u2014and what we\u2019re saying in this letter is, \u2018Guys, get with it at the DEA.\u2019 It\u2019s not 1954. More than half of all states have legalized marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n To be clear, it is possible to carry out research into cannabis despite its Schedule I status, but officials and experts have long criticized the onerous registration process and limited access that\u2019s held up marijuana studies for decades.<\/p>\n The letter that Warren led made the case to DEA that it should go further than what was recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last year, which was to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. That would not federally legalize marijuana, nor would it sanction state markets; however, it would have other impacts such as removing research barriers and allowing state-licensed cannabis businesses to take federal tax deductions that they\u2019re currently barred from under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is to say, at the federal level, instead of creating this conflict, which is causing all kinds of problems\u2014we\u2019ve got problems with banking laws and problems in tax laws\u2014you just say deschedule,\u201d the senator said. \u201cAnd look, we need some restrictions. Of course, let\u2019s treat it like alcohol. We need to dechedule it, join the 21st century and let\u2019s make marijuana legal. It shouldn\u2019t be that hard.\u201d<\/p>\n During her appearance on Colbert\u2019s late night show, Warren stuck to the policy issues and did not take the bait on the host\u2019s question about her own personal consumption.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to point out you didn\u2019t answer my second question,\u201d Colbert teased.<\/p>\n Warren grinned.<\/p>\n \u2014 In the meantime, rumors have been swirling about a possibly imminent announcement from about federal marijuana policy, potentially concerning the ongoing scheduling review. But a Biden administration official told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that they weren\u2019t aware of anything coming up this next week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Adding to the speculation is the fact that congressional lawmakers have been especially active in recent days in their advocacy for action (or inaction) on cannabis scheduling matters.<\/p>\n Last week, for example, a Republican congressman who has long opposed marijuana reform is told DEA that the\u00a0Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came to a \u201cmisguided conclusion\u201d to recommend rescheduling cannabis<\/a>\u2014challenging the health agency\u2019s scientific standards and imploring DEA to dismiss them as it prepares to make a final determination.<\/p>\n HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said last month that his agency has\u00a0\u201ccommunicated\u201d its \u201cposition\u201d on marijuana rescheduling to DEA<\/a>\u00a0and has continued to offer additional information to assist with the final determination.<\/p>\n DEA has\u00a0steadfastly maintained it has \u201cfinal authority\u201d over the matter<\/a>\u00a0and can make any scheduling determination that it sees fit.<\/p>\n \u201cDEA has the final authority to schedule, reschedule, or deschedule a drug under the Controlled Substances Act, after considering the relevant statutory and regulatory criteria and HHS\u2019s scientific and medical evaluation,\u201d the agency said in a letter to lawmakers last month. \u201cDEA is now conducting its review.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement came in response to an earlier letter from 31 bipartisan lawmakers, led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), that\u00a0urged the agency to consider the \u201cmerits\u201d of legalization as it carried out its review<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prior to HHS releasing a trove of documents concerning its cannabis recommendation, a coalition of 12 Democratic state attorneys general\u00a0implored DEA to move forward with federal marijuana rescheduling<\/a>, calling the policy change a \u201cpublic safety imperative.\u201d<\/p>\n In another letter in December, 29 former U.S. attorneys\u00a0called on the Biden administration to leave cannabis in Schedule I<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also that month, the governors of six U.S. states\u2014Colorado, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Louisiana\u2014sent a letter to Biden\u00a0calling on the administration to reschedule marijuana by the end of last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, six former DEA heads and five former White House drug czars sent a letter to the attorney general and current DEA administrator\u00a0voicing opposition to the top federal health agency\u2019s recommendation to reschedule marijuana<\/a>. They also made a questionable claim about the relationship between drug schedules and criminal penalties in a way that could exaggerate the potential impact of the incremental reform.<\/p>\n Signatories include DEA and Office of National Drug Control Policy heads under multiple administrations led by presidents of both major parties.<\/p>\n In October, Advocates and lawmakers who support cannabis reform marked the one-year anniversary of Biden\u2019s mass marijuana pardon and scheduling directive by calling on him to do more\u2014including by\u00a0expanding the scope of relief that his pardon had and by expressly supporting federal legalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two GOP senators, including the lead Republican sponsor of\u00a0a marijuana banking bill that cleared a key committee in September<\/a>, also filed legislation late last year to\u00a0prevent federal agencies from rescheduling cannabis\u00a0without tacit approval from Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n A coalition of 14 Republican congressional lawmakers, meanwhile, separately\u00a0urged DEA to \u201creject\u201d the top federal health agency\u2019s recommendation to reschedule marijuana<\/a>\u00a0and instead keep it in the most restrictive category under the CSA.<\/p>\n A recent poll found that about\u00a0one-third of marijuana consumers say they would go back to the illicit market<\/a>\u00a0if cannabis was rescheduled and only made legally available as a Food and Drug Administration- (FDA) approved prescription drug.<\/p>\n Another recent survey found that President Joe Biden stands to\u00a0make significant political gains if marijuana is rescheduled<\/a>\u00a0under his administrative directive. Of course, Biden doesn\u2019t directly control the final outcome.<\/p>\n The president has routinely touted his 2022 scheduling directive, as well as a mass pardon he granted for people who\u2019ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses. He followed up on that action in December\u00a0with a renewed and expanded pardon proclamation<\/a>. The Justice Department has\u00a0already begun issuing certifications for people who applied<\/a>\u00a0under the second round.<\/p>\n Last weekend, meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris said the administration\u2019s move to pardon people for federal marijuana possession offenses is\u00a0an example of how it is delivering for Americans, particularly young and Black voters<\/a>\u00a0who could be key to Biden\u2019s reelection bid this year.<\/p>\n Hawaii House Committees Approve Bill To Create A Limited Therapeutic Psilocybin Program To Treat Certain Mental Health Conditions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo element courtesy of Gage Skidmore<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Elizabeth Warren Says It \u2018Shouldn\u2019t Be That Hard\u2019 To Legalize Marijuana, But Avoids Colbert\u2019s Question About Being High<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says it\u2019s time to \u201cjoin the 21st century\u201d and legalize marijuana\u2014but Stephen Colbert didn\u2019t let it go unnoticed that she declined to answer his question about whether was high herself during an appearance on The Late Show on Monday. Colbert asked the senator a two-part questionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":72301,"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\/72300"}],"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=72300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72302,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72300\/revisions\/72302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Elizabeth Warren Says It \u2018Shouldn\u2019t Be That Hard\u2019 To Legalize Marijuana, But Avoids Colbert\u2019s Question About Being High<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"