The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) may reschedule marijuana as soon as this week, according to rumors confirmed by the offices of at least two members of the United States Senate.
In an episode of their podcast released today, the anti-marijuana organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) says an announcement on the DEA’s marijuana scheduling decision “could be coming this week”, with co-founder Kevin Sabet (a former White House advisor on drug policy) saying “We’re hearing a lot of chatter, even as we’re having this podcast I’m hearing from some sources that pro-marijuana Democratic senators are saying it’s very soon, as in today or tomorrow”.
Now, we’ve confirmed with the offices of two US senators that these rumors have in fact been making their way around the capitol, with one staffer saying “everything we’ve heard leads us to believe an announcement will happen real soon, as in tomorrow or sometime this week.”
It’s worth noting that until an official announcement is made by the DEA or White House, no one can be sure when the DEA will come to its final conclusion. However, many seem to be taking this particular rumor more seriously than others in recent weeks and months.
The ongoing reevaluation by the DEA of marijuana’s classification as a Schedule 1 drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act was initiated after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suggested reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III, which would legalize it for prescription use. This recommendation followed a comprehensive review by HHS, which lasted nearly a year and began with an executive order from President Biden.
The speculation that the DEA will announce its decision within days has been fueled by recent revelations that the agency informed senators about an upcoming “public comment period” following their announcement. This indicates a likely change in marijuana’s scheduling, as a public comment period would be necessary only if the DEA opts to reschedule or deschedule the drug, rather than maintain the current status. Legally, any scheduling decision by the DEA must be subject to a 30-day public comment period and a hearing before implementation.
For a complete timeline of the DEA’s marijuana review, click here.
