Today, Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Senator James Lankford (R-OK) released a bicameral letter with 23 other Members of Congress “strongly opposing the Biden administration’s recent decision to move marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III substance.”
According to a press release sent from Rep. Sessions office, the letter “emphasizes that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made the recommendation to reschedule based on politics, not science.” The group of Republicans says that rescheduling “ignores the increasing danger of high-potency marijuana, creating a high risk for public health threats such as youth overdoses, schizophrenia, and psychosis.”
Rep. Sessions says “The decision to disregard public safety and medical concerns to reclassify marijuana is strictly political. This egregious proposed rule fails to provide sufficient science and data in support. Senator Lankford and I are leading the charge in raising the alarm from Congress”
The letter was sent to the Department of Justice with less than two weeks remaining in the legally required 60-day public comment period for the DEA’s proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III. Nearly 30,000 comments have been submitted, with less than 10% supporting the rejection of the proposal to keep marijuana as a Schedule I drug.
The DEA’s proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III would be the first change to its scheduling status since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted in 1970. Reclassifying marijuana would recognize its medical value and permit its compounds and medicines to be prescribed nationwide. It would also offer federal protections to state-legal medical marijuana businesses and patients, 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.
