A group of 29 former federal prosecutors have sent a letter to the leaders of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) urging them to retain marijuana as a schedule I drug.
The letter from the former prosecutors comes in response to a letter sent in August by the Department of Health to the DEA, officially requesting marijuana be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (this would legalize it for prescription use across the country). A report released in September by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) states that it’s “likely” the DEA will reschedule marijuana to reschedule III, which will have “broad implications for federal policy”.
The letter from the former prosecutors, directed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, states that “Almost no one has benefitted from legal weed, but there is one group coming out on top – drug cartels. Many states have enacted home-grow marijuana laws, which led to cartels growing marijuana in the United States to cut trafficking costs.”
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