{"id":75451,"date":"2024-05-20T05:08:41","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T13:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/05\/20\/doj-seeks-input-on-unique-economic-impacts-of-marijuana-rescheduling-for-multibillion-dollar-industry\/"},"modified":"2024-05-20T12:45:57","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T20:45:57","slug":"doj-seeks-input-on-unique-economic-impacts-of-marijuana-rescheduling-for-multibillion-dollar-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/05\/20\/doj-seeks-input-on-unique-economic-impacts-of-marijuana-rescheduling-for-multibillion-dollar-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Seeks Input On \u2018Unique Economic Impacts\u2019 Of Marijuana Rescheduling For \u2018Multibillion Dollar Industry\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The Justice Department says it is interested in receiving public comments on the \u201cunique economic impacts\u201d of its marijuana rescheduling proposal<\/a> given that state-level legalization has created a \u201cmultibillion dollar industry\u201d that stands to benefit from possible federal tax relief under the reform.<\/p>\n

In its notice of proposed rulemaking that\u2019s set to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, DOJ said \u201cmarijuana is subject to a number of State laws that have allowed a multibillion dollar industry to develop,\u201d and the department \u201cacknowledges that there may be large impacts related to Federal taxes and research and development investment for the pharmaceutical industry, among other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Justice Department\u2019s move to place cannabis in Schedule III, rather than Schedule I, of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) has already generated intense public interest. And the 60-day public comment period that will formally open this week is expected to see a wide-range of feedback from advocates, stakeholders, opponents and others.<\/p>\n

But DOJ said in its draft notice posted on Thursday that it is \u201cspecifically soliciting comments on the economic impact of this proposed rule. DOJ will revise this section at the final rule stage if warranted after consideration of any comments received.\u201d<\/p>\n

The department also said<\/a> it\u2019s \u201cconcluded that this action may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,\u201d in large part because a current ban that prevents state-licensed cannabis businesses from taking federal tax deductions under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E \u201cwould no longer serve as a statutory bar\u201d if marijuana is moved to Schedule III.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf marijuana is ultimately transferred to schedule III, section 280E would no longer serve as a statutory bar to claiming deductions for those expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn addition, small entities engaged in research on marijuana may be subject to different research protocols set by [the Drug Enforcement Administration] DEA if the research is conducted on a schedule III substance rather than a schedule I substance,\u201d the notice says. \u201cHowever, DOJ is currently not in a position to estimate the number of small entities affected by these or other potential effects of this action. DOJ seeks comment and additional information to inform its analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

When President Joe Biden announced the administration\u2019s rescheduling action<\/a> on Thursday, he described it as consistent with his belief that nobody should be jailed over cannabis possession. As a statutory matter, that wouldn\u2019t necessarily apply with simple rescheduling because it\u2019d remain federally illegal. But the White House has not publicly commented on the economic impacts of the incremental reform.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, many advocates have welcomed the rescheduling determination, given that it represents the first time in over 50 years that the federal government has recognized the medical value and relatively low abuse potential of a plant that\u2019s been legalized in some form in the vast majority of states.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, activists have emphasized that rescheduling does not federally legalize marijuana or provide corrective relief to people who\u2019ve been criminalized over it. And, of course, prohibitionists have urged DEA to keep marijuana in Schedule I and are expected to litigate if the agency moves forward with the incremental reform.<\/p>\n

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram has also\u00a0acknowledged the possibility of an administrative hearing to gain further input<\/a>\u00a0on the decision before its finalized.<\/p>\n

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has also\u00a0weighed in on the rescheduling development, saying in a report<\/a>\u00a0that while it was \u201clikely\u201d that DEA would enact the policy change, that would not bring state markets into compliance with federal law. It added that\u00a0Congress still has the authority to address the federal-state cannabis policy gap \u201cbefore or after\u201d that reform is enacted.<\/p>\n

To that end, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and colleagues have\u00a0reintroduced legislation to federally legalize cannabis<\/a>\u00a0and impose certain regulations. The bill\u2019s prospects are dubious in the current divided Congress, however.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the top Democrat in the U.S. House said that the Biden administration\u2019s move to reschedule marijuana is a \u201cstep in the right direction,\u201d but it should be\u00a0followed up with congressional action such as passing the legalization bill<\/a>\u00a0Schumer filed.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with Fox News, former\u00a0DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson said it \u201cabsolutely looks like\u201d the agency will follow through<\/a>\u00a0with moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA.<\/p>\n

Biden has separately issued two rounds of mass pardons for people who\u2019ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses. Again, a Schedule III reclassification would not legalize cannabis or free people still incarcerated over cannabis.<\/p>\n

It should also be noted that, during his run for the presidency,\u00a0Biden pledged to move cannabis to Schedule II<\/a>\u2014a stricter category compared to what\u2019s been proposed by his administration.<\/p>\n

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Biden \u2018Smokes\u2019 Trump On Marijuana Policy, Campaign Says After President\u2019s Rescheduling Announcement<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The post DOJ Seeks Input On \u2018Unique Economic Impacts\u2019 Of Marijuana Rescheduling For \u2018Multibillion Dollar Industry\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: DOJ Seeks Input On \u2018Unique Economic Impacts\u2019 Of Marijuana Rescheduling For \u2018Multibillion Dollar Industry\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Justice Department says it is interested in receiving public comments on the \u201cunique economic impacts\u201d of its marijuana rescheduling proposal given that state-level legalization has created a \u201cmultibillion dollar industry\u201d that stands to benefit from possible federal tax relief under the reform. In its notice of proposed rulemaking that\u2019sContinue 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\/75451"}],"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=75451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75452,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75451\/revisions\/75452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}