President Joe Biden\u2019s health secretary is suggesting that federal drug enforcement officials are not necessarily on board with the administration\u2019s plan to reschedule marijuana.<\/p>\n
Asked about the status of the proposed move of cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act at a recent event in Sacramento, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said his agency \u201ctook action\u201d based on available science and evidence, saying that the ball is now in the Department of Justice\u2019s court.<\/p>\n
He dodged a follow-up question, however, about rumored pushback against the reform by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did our job,\u201d Becerra said of the recommendation in an interview with KQED\u2019s Scott Schafer at the CalMatters Ideas Festival on Thursday, adding that DEA \u201cnow has the final call to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there resistance in DEA?\u201d Schafer inquired.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalk to DEA,\u201d answered Becerra, repeating: \u201cWe did our job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna take that as a yes,\u201d Schafer replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur scientists reviewed the evidence,\u201d Becerra responded. \u201cFDA bases its action on the science and the evidence before us. We took action.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDuring the interview<\/a>, Schafer also asked Becerra whether he has \u201cany concerns, as the father of three daughters\u2014three children\u2014you know, about the use of marijuana?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have concerns when they get out and drive a car, or they go out at night and they\u2019re over 21. I have lots of concerns,\u201d Becerra said. \u201cThank God they\u2019ve got great heads on their shoulders. And on something like cannabis, I think they would continue to have great heads on their shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook, if my daughters could go out and buy a pint of whiskey or a menthol cigarette\u2014we know what we\u2019re up against,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd let\u2019s be real: You can\u2019t incarcerate your way to a solution here. You can regulate it. And if you regulate it the right way, which we\u2019re supposed to do for alcohol and cigarettes and all the rest, then we can manage it. But we have to make a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore than half of the states have made a decision that they\u2019d rather regulate this than criminalize it,\u201d Becerra added of medical marijuana. \u201cThe U.S. FDA, the scientists, have spoken and said we should deschedule from Schedule I to Schedule III on cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n I sat down with @Scottshafer<\/a> at @CalMatters<\/a> Ideas Festival to share HHS priorities and successes on lowering drug costs, expanding access to care, and increasing health equity. <\/p>\n We’re reaffirming our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to quality, affordable care. pic.twitter.com\/X4zeXbmAL7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Secretary Xavier Becerra (@SecBecerra) June 7, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Becerra\u2019s handling of the question about \u201cresistance\u201d at DEA comes amid ongoing speculation over the internal politics within the administration on marijuana rescheduling.<\/p>\n Indications that DEA might not be on board came alongside the rescheduling move itself<\/a>, with the proposed rule in the Federal Register noting several times that the agency\u00a0believes \u201cadditional information\u201d needs to be collected via public comment or a possible administrative hearing could influence the final scheduling decision.<\/p>\n \u201cDEA has not yet made a determination as to its views of the appropriate schedule for marijuana,\u201d the document said.<\/p>\n Adding to questions about a possible disconnect between DOJ and DEA over the proposal is the fact that the attorney general, rather than the DEA administrator<\/a>, signed the draft rule.<\/p>\n Even before the formal announcement, it had been reported that certain DEA officials had been \u201cat odds\u201d with the Biden administration over the rescheduling push<\/a>.<\/p>\n A DEA official was also absent last week from a scheduled appearance to discuss marijuana policy<\/a> and regulatory oversight issues for cannabinoid research.<\/p>\n The moderator of that panel said the DEA representative cancelled at the last moment. DEA did, however, issue a message to attendees that the agency\u2019s \u201cgoal is to support researchers as they navigate this registration process\u201d to study Schedule I drugs like cannabis, \u201cand outreach is a key component of their model to provide that support,\u201d according to the moderator.<\/p>\n The proposed rule to federally reschedule marijuana was officially posted last month, kicking off a public comment period that\u2019s expected to elicit a major response<\/a>\u00a0from supporters and opponents of cannabis reform.<\/p>\n Marijuana reform advocates and stakeholders have made clear that they intend to leverage the opportunity, with some planning to support the reclassification and others intending to call for descheduling cannabis altogether. Prohibitionists are expected to oppose the incremental policy change and seek to keep marijuana in Schedule I, and there\u2019s also a looming threat of litigation.<\/p>\n While DOJ will take all public comments submitted by July 22 into consideration as it weighs the reform, it said in the notice that one of the topics its especially interested in hearing about is\u00a0the \u201cunique economic impacts\u201d of the rescheduling proposal<\/a>\u00a0given 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 On Capitol Hill, 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 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 Voters In Slovenia Approve Marijuana Ballot Measures<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Top Biden Health Official Hints At DEA Resistance To Marijuana Rescheduling Move<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden\u2019s health secretary is suggesting that federal drug enforcement officials are not necessarily on board with the administration\u2019s plan to reschedule marijuana. Asked about the status of the proposed move of cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act at a recent event in Sacramento, U.S. HealthContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"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\/76126"}],"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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76127,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76126\/revisions\/76127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Top Biden Health Official Hints At DEA Resistance To Marijuana Rescheduling Move<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"