May 01 2024

US Senate: Full Text of Bill to Deschedule and Legalize Marijuana Released to Public

The full text of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) has been released.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with 17 cosponsors, formally introduced the CAOA today. The measure proposes to remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, allow expungement of past offenses, and establish federal tax and regulations for legal marijuana sales.

The sponsors have now made the full text of the measure available, which you can access by clicking here. They have also provided a detailed summary, available below:
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May 01 2024

The 6 Steps Required Before Marijuana Can Be Moved to Schedule III

The DEA has recommended rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III; here’s an overview of the procedural steps that must occur before this change can officially take effect.

In a significant policy shift, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced its recommendation to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This recommendation, which follows an August recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), marks a potential turning point in the federal regulation of cannabis.

The process from here involves several bureaucratic steps. Here’s what to expect:
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May 01 2024

Nation’s Oldest Marijuana Reform Group Praises DEA’s Decision to Reschedule Marijuana, But Says “It Fails to Go Far Enough”

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the oldest pro-marijuana reform group in the world (est 1970), has praised the DEA’s decision to reschedule marijuana, while promising to continue fighting for full legalization.

“Yesterday, the Department of Justice affirmed that the DEA has concurred with an HHS recommendation to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act”, says NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano. “While the DEA’s opinion to reschedule cannabis fails to go far enough, it represents the first time the agency has ever abandoned its ‘Flat Earth’ position toward cannabis and acknowledged that the substance possesses legitimate therapeutic utility.”

Armentano says “Still, it continues to perpetuate the growing divide between federal marijuana laws and the marijuana legalization laws of a growing number of states. It also fails to align with public opinion, as most Americans agree that cannabis should be treated more like alcohol than like ketamine. Nonetheless, this decision marks both a symbolic and a very tangible victory.”
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May 01 2024

18 US Senators File Federal Legislation to Legalize Marijuana and Enable Expungements

A coalition of 18 United States senators have filed legislation to deschedule and legalize marijuana.

Today, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) was filed by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Laphonza Butler (D-CA).

The CAOA would require the US attorney general to finalize rules removing marijuana as a controlled substance within 180 days of the bill’s passage. The measure would also place a 5% federal excise tax on marijuana producers that would increase to 12.5% by the fifth year, and it would establish the Center for Cannabis Products within the FDA, tasked with regulating “the production, labeling, distribution, sales and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry”.
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Apr 30 2024

Study Finds Psilocybin “Elicits Robust, Rapid and Sustained Antidepressant-Like Effects”

The results of a new study using an animal model “demonstrate that psilocybin elicits robust, rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects”.

Dried psilocybin.

The study was published in the recent issue of the Journal of Psychopharmacology, and it was conducted by researchers at the Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, the Inner Mongolia Traditional Chinese and Mongolian Medical Research Institute, and Capital Medical University, all in China.

“Psilocybin offers new hope for treating mood disorders due to its rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, as standard medications require weeks or months to exert their effects”, states the study’s abstract. “However, the mechanisms underlying this action of psilocybin have not been identified.”
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Apr 30 2024

Bipartisan US Lawmakers Praise DEA’s Decision to Reschedule Marijuana, While Calling for Further Reform

The DEA’s decision to move marijuana to Schedule III has garnered widespread and bipartisan praise among congressional lawmakers, with some promising to continue fighting for marijuana to be fully descheduled.

“After decades of the federal government being dug in on prohibition, moving cannabis to Schedule III would be a huge shift in policy and signal to the American people that the days of reefer madness are coming to an end,” said Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who Chairs the Senate Finance Committee. “Medical research will open up and legal small businesses will no longer be treated unjustly like criminals under the inequitable 280E tax provision—a provision I’ve been working for years to repeal.”

Wyden continues by saying “I’m not going to let today’s news slow this movement down, because there’s more to be done to rectify the harms of the failed War on Drugs. “Cannabis should ultimately be descheduled with strong federal regulations put in place to protect public health and safety. Leader Schumer, Senator Booker and I have just the bill to do it.”
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Apr 30 2024

US Department of Justice Officially Confirms Marijuana is Being Moved to Schedule III

An official with the Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially confirmed reports that marijuana is being moved to Schedule III.

Earlier today it was reported that the Biden Administration would be rescheduling marijuana following an over eight month review by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Now, the DOJ has confirmed these reports for the first time.

“Today the Attorney General circulated a proposal to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III”, says DOJ Director of Public Affairs Xochitl Hinojosa. “Once published by the Federal Register, it will initiate a formal rulemaking process as prescribed by Congress in the Controlled Substances Act.”
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Apr 30 2024

US Senate Leader Says DEA’s Decision to Reschedule Marijuana is “Great News”, Calling it “Historic”

United States Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says the DEA’s marijuana rescheduling decision is “great news”, calling it “a historic step forward”.

“It is great news that DEA is finally recognizing that restrictive and draconian cannabis laws need to change to catch up to what science and the majority of Americans have said loud and clear,” Schumer said in a press release.

Schumer says “While this rescheduling announcement is a historic step forward, I remain strongly committed to continuing to work on legislation like the SAFER Banking Act as well as the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which federally deschedules cannabis by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act.”
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Apr 30 2024

The DEA is Moving Marijuana to Schedule III: Here’s What That Means

The Biden Administration announced today that the DEA will move marijuana to Schedule III. Here’s a breakdown of what that means.

In a landmark decision that marks a significant shift in federal marijuana policy, the Biden Administration announced today that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance. This move will have widespread implications for both medical research and the legal landscape surrounding cannabis use.

Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), enacted in 1970, substances are classified into schedules based on their accepted medical use, potential for abuse, and likelihood of causing dependency. Schedule I drugs, which include LSD and heroin, are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Marijuana has been categorized under this schedule since the CSA’s enactment, a classification that has long been a point of contention among advocates, researchers, and lawmakers.
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Apr 30 2024

In Historic Decision Biden Administration Will Reschedule Marijuana to Schedule III

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced that it will reschedule marijuana.

The DEA’s decision to move marijuana to Schedule III will be followed by a required 30-day public comment period, and a hearing, before it can take effect.

Under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, making it illegal for all purposes. The DEA’s decision to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug will effectively legalize it nationwide for prescription use, while providing state-legal medical marijuana patients and businesses with numerous federal protections that are currently unavailable to them. Other Schedule III substances include codeine, ketamine and testosterone.
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