31 Bipartisan House Lawmakers Urge DEA to End ‘Failed’ Cannabis Prohibition

A group of 31 bipartisan House lawmakers sent a letter (embedded below) Oct. 27 to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram, emphasizing the ongoing review of how cannabis is scheduled as “a necessary step in the work to end the federal government’s failed and discriminatory prohibition of cannabis.”

The letter, signed by Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chairs Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Brian Mast, R-Fla., among others, calls on the DEA and other relevant agencies to “recognize the merits of full descheduling and work with congressional leaders to ensure this happens.”

“Continued federal prohibition and criminalization of marijuana does not reflect the broader American electorate—it is time that the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) work fully reflects this reality as well,” the U.S. representatives wrote.

The lawmakers noted that Congress is working on comprehensive legislation to federally legalize cannabis following the lead of the 23 U.S. states that have passed some form of adult-use cannabis legalization and the 39 states with legal medical cannabis programs.

As an example, the letter calls out the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which the House has passed twice to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), provide expungements for those with cannabis-related offenses and levy a federal tax on cannabis to fund programs that support those adversely impacted by the war on drugs.

The lawmakers also noted that “House Republicans and Democratic Senate leadership have also introduced several of their own bills aimed at doing the same.” Just last week, for example, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., filed legislation to federally legalize cannabis, likely building off the States Reform Act that Mace filed in November 2021 alongside four Republican co-sponsors.

President Joe Biden announced in October 2022 that his administration would launch an official review of how cannabis is scheduled under the CSA. As a result of this directive, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a recommendation in August that cannabis be reclassified as a Schedule III drug.

RELATED: CBT Receives Heavily Redacted HHS Letter to DEA on Cannabis Reclassification

The lawmakers wrote in last week’s letter that “moving marijuana to Schedule III would be an important step in the right direction, but it is not sufficient to correct the wrongs of federal prohibition or to meaningfully address the federal-state gap on cannabis policy.”

“Additionally, ending the unjust scheduling of marijuana and normalizing federal cannabis regulation go hand-in-hand,” they wrote. “The federal government must correct this prohibition and the continued criminalization of otherwise legal marijuana—creating legal job opportunities, promoting public safety not unjust incarceration, and upholding established state regulation of cannabis production, taxation, and sales. We do not negate the need for corresponding legislative action on many of these components, but all branches of the federal government and relevant agencies must recognize the need to deschedule marijuana to protect the will of each state.”

Blumenauer, who founded the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and has served his current U.S. House district since 1996, announced Oct. 30 that he will not seek reelection in 2024. He told Cannabis Business Times in a statement Monday that he believes cannabis rescheduling and full federal legalization are within reach after his more than 50 years of advocating from public office.

“I will continue championing common-sense policy and strategizing on federal legislation with advocates, industry and impacted communities,” he said.

Meanwhile, the lawmakers who signed off on last week’s letter stressed that as Congress works to send a comprehensive cannabis legalization bill to the president’s desk, “the urgency of full descheduling should inform the DEA’s position on overall cannabis reform and appropriate enforcement centered on advancing public safety, not unjust criminalization.”

“Marijuana’s continued inappropriate scheduling is both arcane and out-of-touch with the will of the American people,” they wrote. “We look forward to your response and the Drug Enforcement Administration working transparently and proactively with Congress to adopt this crucial step."

31 Lawmaker Letter Dea Resc... by Tony Lange