Only three weeks remain in the 60-day public comment period for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) proposal to reschedule marijuana.
“In the nearly six weeks since the public comment period began, over 26,000 comments have been submitted. Approximately 70% of these comments urge the DEA to fully deschedule marijuana or legalize it. Descheduling would decriminalize the plant nationwide by removing it entirely from the federal Controlled Substances Act.
Less than 10% of the comments advocate for the DEA to retain the status quo and keep marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it remains illegal for all purposes under all conditions.
The DEA’s proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III would mark the first change to marijuana’s scheduling status since the Controlled Substances Act was introduced in 1970. Reclassifying marijuana would acknowledge its medical value and allow its compounds and medicines to be prescribed nationwide, while also providing state-legal medical marijuana businesses and patients with federal protections, including allowing licensed marijuana businesses to take IRS tax deductions.
All comments to the DEA are publicly accessible and can be viewed by clicking here. You can submit your own comment by clicking here.
Polling released in May found that two-thirds of voters in the United States support the move to reclassify marijuana.
