The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved legislation to block the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to reschedule marijuana and ease restrictions on the drug under federal law. The Republican-led panel approved an amendment to a funding bill that blocks the Department of Justice from acting on the rescheduling plan, which is currently in the midst of a rulemaking process to move cannabis from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to the less restrictive Schedule III.
The U.S. Capitol against a background of flowering cannabis plants.
A House congressional committee has approved legislation that would block the Biden administration’s … [+]
In October 2022, President Joseph Biden called on his administration to initiate a review of the federal government’s prohibition of marijuana. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally recommended that cannabis be rescheduled under the CSA in August 2023. The recommendation was based on a review of the science behind the medicinal use of cannabis that supported the change to Schedule III, a classification that includes drugs such as Tylenol with codeine and testosterone.
In January, a federal review of cannabis research by HHS determined that marijuana is eligible for less strict classification under federal drug laws. In the review, researchers with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that credible evidence shows that marijuana has legitimate medical uses and fits the criteria for rescheduling under the CSA. Four months later, the Drug Enforcement Administration indicated that it would approve the effort to remove marijuana from Schedule I, a category reserved for drugs with no accepted medical value and a high potential for abuse, and place it under Schedule III. A proposed rule to implement the change is now in a 60-day public comment period.
Amendment Blocks Marijuana Rescheduling
That process could be stopped in its tracks, however, with Tuesday’s approval of a Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) funding bill by the House Appropriations Committee. Under an amendment approved by the committee, the Department of Justice would be blocked from spending federal funds to reschedule or deschedule marijuana under the CSA. Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro introduced an amendment to remove the provisions to block rescheduling and other unrelated sections of the bill, but the committee defeated the proposal by a vote of 20-30, according to a report from cannabis news source Marijuana Moment.
The GOP-led attempt to prevent the reclassification of marijuana would be a blow to the regulated cannabis industry, which, if rescheduling succeeds, would no longer be subject to provisions of the tax code that deny standard business deductions for companies that sell Schedule I substances. David Craig, chief marketing officer of Missouri licensed cannabis company Illicit Gardens, characterized the House Appropriation Committee’s approval of the amendment as “a disappointing move.”
H/T: www.forbes.com
