On August 29, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) scheduled the hearing date to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug to take comment on the proposed federal drug policy change for December 2. This announcement means that a decision to reclassify the drug on a federal level in the United States will not come until after the presidential election in November, potentially making reclassification a political issue on the debate stage.
Justice Department and DEA
The Justice Department first proposed reclassification in May in an attempt to recognize the medical applications of marijuana while acknowledging that it has far less abuse potential than other Schedule 1 drugs.
In a recent memo, the DEA stated that it still has no position on whether the reclassification change should go through. However, it will continue to consider the issue as the federal process progresses.
Likely to Become a Political Issue
While the initial hearing date would now be within the last months of President Joe Biden’s term in office, a final decision on the matter would have to be “pretty expedited,” as cannabis lawyer Brian Vicente expressed. The final decision will likely be left up to the next President of the United States, meaning candidates will face greater scrutiny for their position on marijuana.
While Kamala Harris ran for attorney general in California in 2010, she enforced federal cannabis laws and reportedly opposed the legalization of recreational use for adults in the state. However, her position has shifted during the vice presidency. Now, Kamala backs the drug’s decriminalization, expressing that to have marijuana classified as a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin and LSD is “absurd.”
When former president Donald Trump underwent his first race in 2016, he claimed to support the use of medical marijuana and that decisions on its overall legalization ought to be left up to the states. As of August 31, the Republican nominee expressed support for legalization in Florida, saying in an earlier comment that “it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults.”
However, during the former President’s first term, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions removed an Obama-era policy that prevented federal authorities from stopping the marijuana trade in states that had voted to legalize the drug. For his part, President Joe Biden referred to the initial reclassification effort as “monumental.”
Ongoing Debate on Either Side of the Issue
The potential hearing has resulted in debate between members of the marijuana industry and opposition groups. At the same time, federal regulations continue to fall behind the legalization efforts for medical and recreational marijuana use in many states. These successful efforts have led to dramatic growth in the marijuana industry, who still have to work around federal trafficking laws despite the drug’s legality in their state.
Many advocates for legalization hope that reclassification would enable banks to work with cannabis companies since federally regulated banks currently avoid lending or even providing checking to marijuana businesses. Reclassification also offers the potential for more open research since many advocates for medical marijuana are concerned that politicization distracts from potential benefits.
“It was our hope,” said Steph Sherer, founder and President of Americans for Safe Access, “that we could finally take the next step and create the national medical cannabis program that we need.”
How Much of an Impact Will Reclassification Have?
Whether reclassification will have a significant effect on the marijuana industry remains unclear. Federal prosecutions for possession have been rare in recent years, and ongoing state-level legalization demonstrates that most of the United States already has established networks for the distribution of both medical and recreational marijuana. Rescheduling may be more convenient for most businesses while limiting the illegal market.
