HHS Department Recommends Marijuana Reclassification

This article is by Julie Tsirkin and Laura Strickler at NBC News.com:

The Department of Health and Human Services is formally recommending that the Drug Enforcement Administration ease government restrictions on marijuana, which remains illegal at the federal level even though 40 states allow its use in some form.

The move comes 11 months after President Joe Biden ordered the top health agency to conduct a review of the drug. The recommendation is to move marijuana from what’s known as a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, under the Controlled Substances Act.

In the eyes of the DEA, cannabis is in the same category as other Schedule I drugs like heroin and LSD, meaning it’s considered to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.

A spokesperson for HHS said it has “expeditiously” responded to the directive in providing its recommendation to the DEA on Tuesday.

If the DEA were to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III, it would most notably eliminate an IRS code intended to prevent drug dealers from claiming tax deductions for business expenses.

That alone could save the marijuana industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Small-business owners who spoke to NBC News said the inability to deduct what would otherwise be ordinary business expenses is their single biggest financial burden.

Now that HHS has made its recommendation, all eyes are on the DEA, which has the ultimate authority on scheduling substances.

The Biden administration had hoped to announce the rescheduling of the drug sometime in the fall, around the one-year mark of the president's request for the review, according to five sources familiar with planning. It's not yet clear how long the DEA’s public review process will take.

When reached for comment, a DEA spokesperson said: "We can confirm DEA received a letter from the Department of Health and Human Services providing its findings and recommendation on marijuana scheduling, pursuant to President Biden’s request for a review."

"DEA will now initiate its review,” the spokesperson added.

Asked about the recommendation during a news briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the review “is an independent process” that is led by HHS and the Department of Justice, adding that she would not comment on where Biden currently stands on the issue of decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level.

Reaction to the HHS recommendation has been largely positive on Capitol Hill. In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised HHS as having done “the right thing” and urged the DEA to “quickly follow through on this important step to greatly reduce the harm caused by draconian marijuana laws.” Schumer, D-N.Y., said “there is much more that needs to be done legislatively to end the federal prohibition on cannabis and roll back the War on Drugs.”

Marijuana legalization advocates see this initial step as significant in and of itself: For the first time, the federal government is formally recognizing cannabis’ medical contributions.

The Cannabis Industry Association on Wednesday said that while the recommended reclassification would be historic, more should be done to align federal law with states where marijuana is legal. “The only way to fully resolve the myriad of issues stemming from the federal conflict with state law is to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and regulate the product in a manner similar to alcohol,” said CEO Aaron Smith in a statement.

Easing federal marijuana restrictions is also a political issue that both parties hope to capitalize on ahead of next year's presidential election, as polls have indicated a majority of Americans support legalization.

Some Republicans, including Florida Reps. Matt Gaetz, Greg Steube and Brian Mast have publicly called on the drug to be rescheduled and urged the Biden administration to prioritize the effort. But on the presidential campaign trail, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down this week on his opposition to marijuana decriminalization and legalization, despite voters in his state legalizing medical use of the drug last year. The Florida Supreme Court is now considering whether a cannabis legalization initiative will appear on the ballot in 2024. 

Separately, there is an ongoing bipartisan effort in Congress that would make it easier for financial institutions to offer banking services to legal cannabis companies.

Schumer has said that getting the legislation, known as the SAFE Banking Act, across the finish line will be a “top priority” when the Senate returns in September. But a looming government shutdown could complicate that effort, even as lawmakers behind the bill have worked to break an impasse over the August recess.

DEA Ridiculously Keeps Marijuana As A Schedule 1 Drug

(Photo of marijuana is from cbc.ca.)

It was hoped that the DEA would change the government's classification of marijuana, but they have refused to do that. Last week, they formally refused to reclassify the gentle herb -- leaving it classified as a schedule 1 narcotic. That is the classification for dangerous drugs like heroin -- drugs that can kill, are addictive, and have no medical value.

That is ridiculous, and shows that the DEA is more concerned with their own funding than in the science regarding marijuana. Marijuana is not addictive, cannot be overdosed on, and has numerous medical uses. It fails the schedule 1 test on every aspect.

Fortunately, Hillary Clinton has said she would reclassify marijuana if she is elected. There is simply no reason not to.

Green Party Says DEA Administrator Should Be Terminated

Green Party Shadow Cabinet member Clifford Thornton (pictured) wrote the following post on May 20th. He lays out the Green Party position that the current DEA Administrator should be fired because she refuses to get on the same page as her bosses in the administration. I agree. I think it's time for this country to alter its failed drug policies, and any government employee that wants to continue with the failed policies of the past should be terminated. Mr. Thornton writes:

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration is refusing to support a bill backed by the Obama administration that would modify mandatory minimum sentences for federal drug crimes, putting her at odds with her boss, Attorney General Holder. He hopes to make the bill, the “Smarter Sentencing Act” a centerpiece of his legacy.

As DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart explained, “Having been in law enforcement as an agent for 33 years, [and] a Baltimore City police officer before that, I can tell you that for me and for the agents that work for DEA, mandatory minimums have been very important to our investigations. We depend on those as a way to ensure that the right sentences are going to the... level of violator we are going after.”

Administrator Leonhart, appointed by Bush a Deputy Administrator of the DEA in 2004 and served as Acting Administrator of the DEA in 2007, was appointed by President Obama as Administrator in 2010 over the objections of many drug policy reformers. She has been at the DEA since 1980.

Leonhart has reportedly harshly criticized the President behind closed doors for saying that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol. She also said that the legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado has only forced DEA agents to become more aggressive; and stated that gangs are taking over in Washington and Colorado in the wake of marijuana legalization, even as there is no evidence that this is true. Holder has said he is optimistic about the way things are progressing in those states.

In 2012, while testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, Leonhart refused to acknowledge that marijuana poses fewer health risks than heroin or crack, which would require it to be removed from the Drug Schedule I. Doing that would effectively change marijuana national policy. 

Nobody really expected that a lifetime drug warrior would quietly accept marijuana legalization. But publicly undermining the Obama administration's position on reforming mandatory minimum drug sentences, especially given that it is a crucial part of Attorney General Eric Holder's Smart on Crime initiative, is obvious insubordination.

The Marijuana Policy Project, Director of Federal Policies Dan Riffle said:

“Whether Ms. Leonhart is ignorant of the facts or intentionally disregarding them, she is clearly unfit for her current position. By any objective measure, marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and society. It is irresponsible and unacceptable for a government official charged with enforcing our drug laws to deny the facts surrounding the nation’s two most popular recreational drugs.

“The DEA administrator’s continued refusal to recognize marijuana’s relative safety compared to alcohol and other drugs flies in the face of the President’s commitment to prioritizing science over ideology and politics. She is neglecting the basic obligations of her job and fundamentally undermining her employer’s mission.  This would be grounds for termination in the private sector, and the consequences for Ms. Leonhart should be no different.”

It is our position that Ms. Leonhart should resign or be fired. She is stuck in outdated drug war propaganda that has been proven to be wrong and is an impediment to important progress.

Obama Is Breaking Another Promise

President Obama is not anywhere near as bad a president as his predecessor was (George Bush). But he has disappointed many progressives by leaving a string of broken promises. Just to name a few, he has not ended either one of Bush's unnecessary and illegal wars, he has not closed the military prison in Guantanamo Bay (or given fair trials to those who are held there), he has not instituted sufficient measures for job creation, he has not ended the outsourcing of American jobs, he has not eliminated Bush's tax cuts for the rich, and he has not covered all Americans with adequate health insurance (although he did make some minor improvements to our broken system).

Now it looks like he is breaking another promise (or allowing his Justice Department to do it for him). Both during his presidential campaign and after he was sworn in as president, Obama (and his Attorney General) promised to stop the DEA and other federal police agencies from arresting or harassing individuals or businesses who were obeying state laws regarding medical marijuana. Here is some of what they said:

March 22, 2008 (Barack Obama) -

 “What I'm not going to be doing is using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue simply because I want folks to be investigating violent crimes and potential terrorism. We've got a lot of things for our law enforcement officers to deal with.”

February 5, 2009 (White House spokesman Nick Shapiro) -

 “The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind.”

February 25, 2009 (Attorney General Eric Holder) -

“No. What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing in law enforcement. He was my boss during the campaign. He is formally and technically and by law my boss now. What he said during the campaign is now American policy.”

March 18, 2009 (Attorney General Eric Holder) -

“The policy is to go after those people who violate both federal and state law ... Given the limited resources that we have, our focus will be on people, organizations that are growing, cultivating substantial amounts of marijuana and doing so in a way that's inconsistent with federal and state law.”

June 5, 2009 (Attorney General Eric Holder) -

 “For those organizations that are doing so sanctioned by state law and do it in a way that is consistent with state law, and given the limited resources that we have, that will not be an emphasis for this administration.”

Now all of those statements seem pretty clear. They say the federal government will not harass consumers or businesses that are complying with state laws regarding the sale and use of medical marijuana. But now it looks like the administration has broken its repeated promise on medical marijuana.

A June 29, 2011 memo from Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole says the following:

A number of states have enacted some form of legislation relating to the medical use of marijuana. Accordingly,theOgdenMemoreiteratedtoyouthatprosecutionofsignificant traffickers of illegal drugs, including marijuana, remains a core priority, but advised that it is likely not an efficient use of federal resources to focus enforcement efforts on individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or their caregivers. The term "caregiver" as used in the memorandummeantjustthat: individualsprovidingcaretoindividualswithcancerorother serious illnesses, not commercial operations cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana.

The Ogden Memorandum was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement action and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law. Persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, regardlessofstatelaw. Consistentwithresourceconstraintsandthediscretionyoumayexercise in your district, such persons are subject to federal enforcement action, including potential prosecution. State laws or local ordinances are not a defense to civil or criminal enforcement of federal law with respect to such conduct, including enforcement of the CSA. Those who engage in transactions involving the proceeds of such activity may also be in violation of federal money laundering statutes and other federal financial laws.

That means they discourage arresting patients with serious medical problems (probably because of the bad publicity it would bring to be throwing sick people in federal prison). But they will arrest anyone who grows, distributes, or sells that marijuana to those sick people (even if they are obeying all state laws). In plain English, sick people can get a prescription for marijuana, but the feds will arrest anyone who tries to legally fill that prescription. Does that make any sense at all?

Following this kind of ridiculous "logic", it would be legal for a doctor to give you a prescription for pain-killers (or any other controlled medication) but it would be illegal for a pharmacist to fill that prescription or for a drug company to make the drug. What good is a prescription that cannot be filled legally?

They may not be throwing sick people in jail, but they are denying those same sick people the right to fill their legal prescription -- and that is just as bad. Marijuana should be legal for use by any adult, but I know the president (and most other politicians) don't have the moral courage to do that. He could at least keep his repeated promise to let sick people fill their prescriptions though.

I have just about had enough of the broken promises. I do not use marijuana and do not live in a state that has approved medical use of marijuana. But this is the kind of broken promise that could justify my voting for a third-party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Promises are made to be kept -- not broken.

Obama Should Act On Medical Marijuana

A total of eleven states now have approved the use of medical marijuana. If a patient has a prescription, he/she can legally use marijuana in those states. But the Bush administration never agreed with the medical use of marijuana, and during his presidency, the federal government and the states were continually at odds. The states would allow a medical marijuana dispensary to open, and the federal government would raid it and shut it down.

It was hoped that President Obama would change this and let sick people fill and use their marijuana prescriptions in peace. During the campaign Obama said, "I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors (is) entirely appropriate. I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue."

But so far, Obama has taken no action on the issue. In fact, leftovers from the Bush administration are still in charge, since Obama has not yet chosen a new head of the DEA or the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

There is an acting DEA administrator, Michele Leonhart, and some think she might get the job. She would be the first African-American woman to head the agency if chosen. But choosing her would be a mistake. She has already shown she favors the Bush administration policy of fighting the states on medical marijuana.

In the last week of the Bush administration, Ms. Leonhart "took a hard line in issuing a 118-page decision rejecting a DEA administrative law judge's recommendation to allow a University of Massachusetts researcher to grow higher-quality medicinal marijuana." Two days after President Obama took office, the DEA under her guidance raided a medical marijuana dispensary in Lake Tahoe.

I realize that the President has been busy and can't do everything at once. But it is time for our government to stop persecuting sick people. Obama needs to order the DEA to stop harrassing the marijuana clinics, and then act to put in place people who will carry out the policy he put forth on the campaign trail.

In the past, the government has told many lies about marijuana. It is not a gateway drug any more than tobacco and alcohol are, and in fact, it is much less dangerous than either of those drugs. And it has shown to be a help with several medical problems. Personally, I think marijuana should be legalized under the same laws that govern alcohol. It could be heavily taxed to help cover government deficits and could be an excellent new cash crop for farmers.

But I would be happy if President Obama would just keep his campaign promise, and allow sick people to use the drug they believe helps them. What kind of country is it that denies a helpful drug to the sick?

Please President Obama, rein in the DEA and keep your promise.