![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-5.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
A Republican congressman has withdrawn an amendment to a fentanyl-related bill that was aimed at undermining the ongoing marijuana rescheduling process.<\/p>\n
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) filed the measure this week with aims of attaching it to the underlying bill meant to ramp up fentanyl criminalization<\/a>. The amendment would have stripped the U.S. attorney general\u2019s authority to facilitate drug scheduling decisions and blocked the use of a revised scientific review standard for \u201ccurrently accepted medical use\u201d that was utilized in a still-pending cannabis rescheduling proposal.<\/p>\n But ahead of a House Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday for the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, or HALT Fentanyl Act, Clyde pulled back his amendment for unknown reasons.<\/p>\n While the underlying bill would also streamline research into Schedule I drugs like marijuana and certain psychedelics\u2014in addition to increasing penalties related to fentanyl-related offenses\u2014the congressman\u2019s amendment would have stipulated that the attorney general delegate scheduling decisions to the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), further specifying that he or she \u201cmay not delegate any such functions [of drug scheduling] to any other officer or employee of the Department of Justice.\u201d<\/p>\n This appeared to be responsive to criticism from anti-cannabis legislators about the process initiated under the Biden administration to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).<\/p>\n Historically, it\u2019s been the head of DEA who signs of on a proposed rescheduling rules. In this case, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland approved it, contributing to suspicions that DEA leadership opposed the reform, despite serving as the designated \u201cproponent\u201d of the rule.<\/p>\n Last May, Clyde and Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA)\u00a0demanded that then-DEA Administrator Anne Milgram answer questions<\/a>\u00a0about why she broke \u201cdecades of precedent\u201d by not signing a proposed marijuana rescheduling rule.<\/p>\n Apparently to that end, Clyde\u2019s amendment to the HALT Act stated: \u201cBefore a proposed or final rule relating to the scheduling of any substance under this Act is published in the Federal Register, such rule shall be signed by the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency and such rule shall have no force or effect unless such rule is so signed.\u201d<\/p>\n That could have been a problem for advocates under the current leadership of DEA under President Donald Trump. Acting Administrator Derek Maltz subscribes to the \u201cgateway drug\u201d theory for marijuana<\/a>\u00a0and believes most people living in states that have legalized cannabis will continue to obtain it from illicit sources such as cartels due to high taxes in regulated markets, for example.<\/p>\n The Clyde\u00a0amendment<\/a> also took aim at the revised review process that led to the Schedule III recommendation for cannabis, instructing that any determination about a drug\u2019s medical value \u201cmeets the five criteria specified in the rule\u201d that was used to deny a petition to reschedule cannabis that was published by DEA in 1992.<\/p>\n In other words, the proposal would have reinstated more stringent review criteria that has kept cannabis in Schedule I for decades.<\/p>\n In the past, the government has relied on that five-part test to determine whether a substance meets the standard for having currently accepted medical use\u2014one that looks at a drug\u2019s chemistry, available health data and other details. But in 2023, when considering the Biden administration\u2019s proposed rescheduling of marijuana, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) introduced a new, simplified two-step analysis that led it to conclude cannabis belongs in Schedule III.<\/p>\n Last May, DOJ\u2019s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)\u00a0said the prior five-part test was \u201cimpermissibly narrow\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and said the two-part review \u201cis sufficient to establish that a drug has CAMU even if the drug has not been approved by FDA and would not satisfy DEA\u2019s five-part test.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong> Meanwhile, although the HALT Act is primarily meant to escalate criminalization over fentanyl-related offenses, advocates have pointed out that the legislation\u2014which cleared a congressional committee in March 2023<\/a>\u2014would also revise requirements for researchers interested in studying any Schedule I drugs.<\/p>\n The aim is to expedite registrations for studies into Schedule I drugs and allow for limited manufacturing by researchers, which could address some concerns surrounding how the strict classification of marijuana, psychedelics and other substances has impeded science.<\/p>\n Some of the research provisions of the bill are similar to those contained in a marijuana-focused measure\u00a0that former President Joe Biden signed into law<\/a> in 2022, giving the U.S. attorney general 60 days to either approve a given application or request supplemental information from a prospective research applicant. It also creates a more efficient pathway for researchers who request larger quantities of cannabis.<\/p>\n Both Chambers Of Virginia\u2019s Legislature Have Now Voted To Legalize Recreational Marijuana Sales<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post GOP Congressman Withdraws Amendment Aimed At Undermining Marijuana Rescheduling Process<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Republican congressman has withdrawn an amendment to a fentanyl-related bill that was aimed at undermining the ongoing marijuana rescheduling process. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) filed the measure this week with aims of attaching it to the underlying bill meant to ramp up fentanyl criminalization. The amendment would have strippedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":80077,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80076"}],"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=80076"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80078,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80076\/revisions\/80078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-4.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: GOP Congressman Withdraws Amendment Aimed At Undermining Marijuana Rescheduling Process<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"