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The governors of six U.S. states—Colorado, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Louisiana—sent a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on Tuesday urging the administration to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act by the end of this year.

“Nearly 88 percent of Americans are in favor of legalization for medical and recreational use,” says a press release from the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), who led the group. “This action would rectify this outdated designation, which risks small businesses and public safety.”

In their letter to the president, the governors said the HHS recommendation “comes on the heels of 38 states creating their own state markets” and regulatory systems.

“In some cases, these state regimes have thrived for more than a decade,” it says, calling the rescheduling recommendation “a signal that FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services have faith in state regulators and the regulations that they have promulgated to keep citizens safe.”

Demand for marijuana in the United States isn’t going away anytime soon, the governors told Biden, arguing that regulated products are far safer than those sold on illicit markets.

“There is, and will continue to be, a significant consumer demand for cannabis. That fact will not change regardless of the policy choices we make,” the letter says. “It seems obvious and sensible to us to make cannabis as safe as it can be for adult consumers while simultaneously protecting our children. The state-regulated marketplace does just that.”

“If the state-legal marketplace doesn’t survive,” the governors added, “then we will see unsafe products on every street corner.”

Polis’s office also noted the potential economic impacts of rescheduling, pointing out that the change “would allow cannabis-related businesses to take ordinary tax deduction, like any other business.”

“Rescheduling cannabis will not only alleviate the financial and safety concerns for businesses,” the Colorado governor’s office said, “but allow a thriving industry to play a full role in the American business environment.”

It’s been just over three months since news leaked that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that marijuana be rescheduled as a Schedule III drug.

In Colorado, Polis applauded the development at the time, but he said there needed to be further action on related issues, such as banking and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforcement guidance.

One of the first state officials to react to the HHS rescheduling recommendation, Polis told Biden in a letter in September that while he expects DEA will “expeditiously” complete its review and move marijuana to Schedule III, the policy change must be coupled with further administrative and congressional action to promote health, safety and economic growth.

The government has since released HHS’s rescheduling letter to DEA—in response to a public records request—in highly redacted form. The redacted portions include virtually the entire substance of the message, such as the scheduling recommendation itself, as well as the scientific review portion that was attached to the letter.

The document, sent to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, says that the HHS recommendation was based on “the eight factors determinative of control of a substance under 21 U.S.C. 81 1 (c).”

While the Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently concluded that it was “likely” that DEA would follow the HHS recommendation based on past precedent, DEA reserves the right to disregard the health agency’s advice because it has final jurisdiction over the CSA.

Meanwhile, six former DEA heads and five former White House drug czars sent a letter to the attorney general and current DEA administrator voicing opposition to the top federal health agency’s recommendation to reschedule marijuana. They also made a questionable claim about the relationship between drug schedules and criminal penalties in a way that could exaggerate the potential impact of the incremental reform.

Signatories include DEA and Office of National Drug Control Policy heads under multiple administrations led by presidents of both major parties.

In October, Advocates and lawmakers who support cannabis reform marked the one-year anniversary of Biden’s mass marijuana pardon and scheduling directive this month by calling on him to do more—including by expanding the scope of relief that his pardon had and by expressly supporting federal legalization.

Two GOP senators, including the lead Republican sponsor of a marijuana banking bill that cleared a key committee last month, recently filed new legislation to prevent federal agencies from rescheduling cannabis without tacit approval from Congress.

A coalition of 14 Republican congressional lawmakers, meanwhile, is urging DEA to “reject” the top federal health agency’s recommendation to reschedule marijuana and instead keep it in the most restrictive category under the CSA.

Read the six governors’ full letter to the Biden administration below:

Veterans Groups Ask Biden To Ensure Marijuana Scheduling Review Is Completed In ‘Timely Manner’ And Push For Broader Reform

The post Six Governors Push Biden To Ensure Marijuana Is Rescheduled By The End Of This Year appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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via www.KahliBuds.com

Ben Adlin, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife