Congress should do its job reschedule cannabis itself, researchers say

CONGRESS
Congress can reschedule cannabis quicker than the DEA

What happened: The Congressional Research Service (CRS) says Congress can reschedule cannabis with “greater speed and flexibility,” than the traditional Drug Enforcement Administration process, in a report released this week.

The CRS report has potentially big ramifications for the Biden Administration’s ongoing push to move cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to the much less restrictive Schedule III. 

What they’re saying: “By contrast, Congress is not bound by the CSA’s substantive or procedural requirements. This means that it can schedule a substance immediately, regardless of whether the substance meets the statutory criteria. While scheduling legislation may also be challenged in court, the scope of judicial review of legislation is typically more limited than judicial review of regulations.”

Back up: Biden’s now-dreary campaign to keep his office needs some wins. While campaigning in 2019 and 2020, both he and Vice President Kamala Harris pushed cannabis reform.

They see the push to move cannabis to Schedule III as fulfilling that promise, though it doesn’t go nearly as far as many advocates, consumers, and industry participants would like. 

Experts say the process was always going to take months-to-years to go through the various and sometimes competing federal agencies. And anti-cannabis groups, from GOP lawmakers, to special interest groups and nonprofits, were always likely to mount a legal challenge.

Chevron? Yep, Chevron: But since the Supreme Court threw out the Chevron Deference in June, these sorts of agency-based rules are now more exposed to legitimate legal challenges, experts told me. 

If Congress decides to reschedule cannabis legislatively, it’ll be much less exposed to legal challenges that could actually win — and it would be a huge sign that Congress can actually enact broadly popular, bipartisan legislation. 

About 60% of Americans say cannabis should be legal federally for both medical and recreational use, according to a recent Pew poll. 

It’s always preferable, and stronger, if the legislative branch uses its powers to create laws, rather than relying on executive orders and federal agencies. The Congressional Research Report reinforces that. 

Watch: Our Cultivated Live with attorney and expert Matt Zorn of Yetter Coleman for more. 

Read more: Lawmakers can reschedule marijuana with ‘greater speed And flexibility’ and lower legal risk than current DEA process, congressional researchers say

And even more: Regulating cannabis interstate commerce: Perspectives on how the federal government should respond

-JB

“The disparity between state and federal policies have created a loophole that has allowed illicit operators to thrive and jeopardize public safety,” Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) said after the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to block the Biden administration’s efforts to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Read more. 

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