92+% of comments to the DEA favor rescheduling

RESCHEDULING
Analysis finds that over 92% of comments favored rescheduling

Driving the news: Yesterday, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s comment period for the proposed rule to move cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the far less restrictive Schedule III closed.

We wrote that there were 36,000 comments before we set yesterday’s newsletter live. In the late afternoon and evening, another 6,000 comments came flooding in — the vast majority of them in favor of the move. 

What happened: A new analysis of the submitted comments for rescheduling found that over 92% of comments were either in favor of moving cannabis to the less restrictive Schedule III or removing cannabis from the list of controlled substances entirely, according to an analysis from Headset, a cannabis industry analytics company. 

Only around 8% supported the status quo — keeping cannabis as a Schedule I controlled drug. 

Read the full analysis. 

Why it matters: The groups that submitted comments range from cannabis trade associations, anti legalization groups, to private citizens either for or against cannabis reform. 

They represent the full gamut of opinions on the rescheduling process. Some say that rescheduling doesn’t go far enough, and is an incremental step that will only benefit the industry — not the communities most affected by cannabis prohibition. 

Others, including a statement from a group of former cannabis regulators, discussed the continued problems arising from the state and federal conflict on cannabis law, which rescheduling doesn’t fix — and how that poses a challenge for effective regulation. 

On the opposition side, a statement from eleven state attorneys general — mostly Republican-controlled states but some, including Montana, with regulated cannabis sales — discussed their view that the DEA’s move to reschedule cannabis would be unlawful. 

Yet other comments pushed the DEA to go further and remove cannabis entirely from the list of federally controlled substances and regulate the drug like alcohol or tobacco. 

What’s next? The DEA now has to comb through the comments and substantively respond. That process could take weeks-to-months, given the volume of comments. 

-JB

Dallas votes on decriminalization 🤠

Advocates in Dallas, Texas collected enough signatures to put decriminalization on the ballot in November, officials said. The advocates turned in nearly 50,000 signatures — and if passed, Dallas residents would be able to possess up to four ounces of cannabis. Read more.

Thailand’s U-turn 🚗

Thailand’s ruling party has agreed to work to effectively regulate cannabis sales rather than put the genie back in the bottle. The country decriminalized cannabis in 2022, but failed to implement an appropriate regulatory framework. The new ruling party wanted to “recriminalize” cannabis use — but that’s now off the table given political pushback. Read more. 

The American College of Physicians called for the decriminalization of cannabis possession in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. The group called for a “public health” approach to regulating cannabis in legal jurisdictions. Read more. 

Kaitlin Domangue, formerly of Benzinga, is joining cannabis tech company Flowhub as Content Marketing Manager, she posted on LinkedIn. 

Commentator Jemele Hill posted a video on Instagram debunking claims that presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ record as a prosecutor was based on jailing Black men for cannabis use. 

jemelehill

View more on Instagram

Quebec cannabis firm Cannara Biotech reported $2.0 million (CAD) in net income on $19.5 million in revenue, up from $15.9 million in the same quarter last year.

‘Multitude of reasons’ drove closure of first social equity dispensary in US | Green Market Report

Why this sheriff supports Amendment 3 | Tallahassee Democrat

Amid Hudson’s urban sprawl, these entrepreneurs aim to blossom and keep dispensaries well-stocked |NJ.com

Opposition campaign headed by DeSantis allies seeks to defeat recreational marijuana amendment |WOKV

Advocacy group urges Missouri to revise testing rules due to ‘very toxic’ chemical found in marijuana products | ABC

Speaking at police event, DeSantis falsely claims that most in Colorado ‘regret’ legalizing marijuana | Marijuana Moment