Justice Department Proposes Rescheduling Marijuana

Marijuana garden. [Photo provided by MET]
The Justice Department [yesterday] announced that the Attorney General has submitted to the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking initiating a formal rulemaking process to consider moving marijuana from a schedule I to schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
Marijuana has been classified as a schedule I drug since Congress enacted the CSA in 1970. On Oct. 6, 2022, President Biden asked the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to launch a scientific review of how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. After receiving HHS’s recommendations last August, the Attorney General sought the legal advice of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on questions relevant to this rulemaking. In light of HHS’ medical and scientific determinations, and OLC’s legal advice, the Attorney General exercised his authority under the law to initiate the rulemaking process to transfer marijuana to schedule III.
The rescheduling of a controlled substance follows a formal rulemaking procedure that requires notice to the public, and an opportunity for comment and an administrative hearing. This proposal starts the process, where the Drug Enforcement Administration will gather and consider information and views submitted by the public, in order to make a determination about the appropriate schedule. During that process, and until a final rule is published, marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance.
The notice of proposed rulemaking submitted by the Department can be viewed here, and the OLC memorandum regarding questions related to the potential rescheduling of marijuana can be found here.
Learn more about the rulemaking process here.




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The pointless slog of the administrative state. Diligently wasting public funds on arcane processes in pursuit of asinine goals.
Remove it from the controlled substances act and treat it like we do other natural intoxicants with millenia of established safe use. Set some common sense age restrictions and let everyone move on with their lives.
Ha! In America? No sir, you must have a study, then a study of the study, then a recommendation, then government agencies each must review the recommendation and submit their proposed changes to the recommendation, all before heading to another review and then comment period, with fees and costs related to the studies along the way, all billed to the American tax payer. Afterwards, another study will be made of the review and comment period, before another recommendation is made and another comment period is initiated, this process must be repeated at least 5 times. Then there must be a discussion of fees for related persons involved in the industry and a reorganization of environmental fines related to the newly rescheduled drug, and finally, the tax and fee structure must be implemented after the final approval of the rescheduling of the drug because now the federal government will have a way to leverage taxes against the dying industry too. All for fees levied against the tax payer. Then they will have to forgive taxes because this newly found goldmine of an industry is overtaxed and isn’t producing any gold, all while leveraging higher taxes against individuals not involved in the industry all so the government can prop up the dying industry that is now dying faster because of the massive amount of taxes and fees involved.
Did I miss anything?
PSN wrote:
“Did I miss anything?”
Yes.
You missed the part where the initial criminalization of marijuana; classification as a Schedule I controlled substance; rejection of previous reclassification efforts; and the current push to reclassify have ALL been based on politics, not science.
The possibility that politics and science may finally align doesn’t change the fact that marijuana policy has always been politically driven.
Politics as in Big Pharma campaign contributions.
Yes, you missed the fact that hyperbole is not necessary.
The truth is strange enough.
That was a honest stab at the truth
—OJ Simpson
Miss anything? Yes.
Between each period of action (term used loosely) a longer period of inaction which only ends and moves forward into the subsequent period of action when the people begin to question what has become of the process.
That one kid you knew in 4th grade you forgot about 40 years ago. You need his input, then you should be good to go.
Agreed… end game, cannabis will soon be federally taxed ! They will squeeze the very last drop of any profits made from this rapidly failing shitshow .
Here here!
They need to reschedule all the rules and regulations concerning the growing of it.
A little price support would also help. Big Ag gets plenty of subsidies.
But wait a minute. What if I’ve been on a strict diet of schedule 2 drugs like Dilaudid fentanyl and oxys just to stay away from that nasty schedule one death drug Marijuana. Are all schedule one drugs ok now? Did they changed the ingredients to Marijuana to make it safer? I am so confused.
Schedule III means you have to get a triplicate RX from your Provider (the Angel of Drugs), because you are not smart enough to use it without legal over-control…
Since, though, you can buy all you want, over the counter or even out the door of a Motel in, say, Garberville, who gives an actual fuck?
Stupid Government, dumb laws, and, the separation of church and state is still right down the toilet…
Best thing to do, is go to Med School, like all those Asian Girls down at UC Davis, and then you can at least make $4-500,000/year dispensing “Pain Management” to all the suckers that have insurance to pay…
It’s a paper chase, and 1:1 Gummies work just as well as Narcotics anyway, and if you want that “knocked out” feeling, buy Tincture down at Purple Star on Mission in SF, when it’s on sale…
Kick Amy Bennett off the Supreme Court, and Clarence Thomas, famous rapist, too…
Fer God’s sake, don’t elect another criminal to the White House…
Criminality has long since been a prerequisite to politics, higher you go bigger the criminal generally speaking. No other choice, we must still vote. Just go for the lesser criminal of the two poor choices presented is par for course in our system. If you’re bright enough, and honest enough, you already know politics aren’t your game.
I remember a time when your buddies weed just got you a happy buzz and the munchies for a while, not this brain spinning wipe out on the floor. I imagine the artificial enhancement of THC % is involved with the hold up of rescheduling.
Barrett (sic)
This is the next step towards oversight by the FDA. Remember what I told you about Biden 4 years ago when he was running for President? Yes that is his jam… Also this reclassification will allow the corporations who are increasingly squeezing out the littler people to use federal tax write-offs like rent, salaries, materials, etc etc. So who do you think pushed for this to happen? Yes that’s right- The BIG players in the weed takeover game…the corporate suits who want it all. Their next big move- after they have consolidated a little more control- will be mobilizing federal funding to raid and destroy those nasty black-market neighbors who dare not buy permits to join in the game that they can never win. NOTHING to celebrate here. It is dark and gloomy as the fascisto/corporate grip is closing in…but yes, some fools will think this is “freedom” or “democracy” at work…akin to “legalization”….Follow the money and stop believing in fairy tales…
Yup… here we go ! Dope $12 a bale. (Small Bale about 50 lbs.)
There will just be a wider range of markets for federally regulated cannabis. You can already get biomass for around $1/lb, maybe cheaper. In the near future, it will likely be sold based on analytics post harvest and contracted prices for each constituent compound.
But dried flower will always be a separate market. And it will always have a range of tiers from commodity priced bulk flower up through super premium product that will likely be sold at auction like top end coffee and tea.
Roll out the red carpet for bayer/monsanto
Cannabis stocks are heating up on the news. $MSOS & $MJ are Cannabis ETFs. $MSOS has all of the American companies, so will benefit most from the reclassification. The stocks to watch are $SNDL, $CGC, $ACB, and $TLRY. Those are basically the biggest names in the publicly traded Cannabis sector.
And there ya go! $$$ for the mega-corps…piss for the little people
Stock manipulation, pump and dump…
Plain and simple…
This won’t be happening anytime soon.
What is the projected time frame…???
Bunch of geniuses out there that have already hastily concluded that this is a done deal…
That couldn’t be further from the truth…
This is nothing more than another totally sleazy Biden campaign strategy tactic…
If this Biden ploy works to get him reelected you can be damn sure his administration and/or the powers that be will slam the brakes on it way before it comes to any fruition, at any time after Election Day…
It’s just yet another Biden “pander to the people” in his bid to win a popularity contest with the foolish youth, all the while Joe becomes the head of all the associated cannabis corruption.
Biden paid off their student loans with taxpayer money, and now he baits them into thinking they can buy weed easier with their newly reestablished credit limit, if they just vote for him…
Mini pump-and-dump opportunity; most of the big corporate pot stocks have been divebombing for the basement for so very long, lots of (mostly) young “investors” losing their ass along the way.
I realize that this is not part of the common thinking on this subject, but I have to say that my life has been immensely better and more focused since I have stopped ingesting anything that alters my perceptions of reality. 32 years and counting one day at a time. But that said, it is just me, and not an indictment on anyone else’s lifestyle.
What do you include in the substances you abstain from?
Stop with the smoke and mirrors. Legalize it already and let’s move on
It’s all about the control and the $$$ for certain people and not others….the smokescreen is the corporate-friendly “legalization” and the lobbyists who put out the propaganda that any of it is about “freedom” or that the government is “kind”. And of course there are many “useful idiots” who will run with that propaganda and convince their friends that this is all for us the working people and our safety…..Sad that after all these centuries the general population still has that old serf mentality…I guess we deserve to be subjugated, dominated and lied to after all!
Oh good God now is this some convoluted cluster f? “Legal” not “legal”, states “legalized”, not “legalized”. Able to purchase at a recreational dispensary for anyone to use. Now wishing to schedule it. Make up your minds.
Gonna be funny hearing reggae music play’in in the background at walmart pharmacy. Here comes big pharma folks buy-in up big tobacco/beverage cannabis assets at a dime on the dollar.
Kym, the photo reminds me of your son’s garden. Like an orange Grove in Southern California.
It looks like a lovely if illegal garden. I wasn’t there but I’m not sure that busting gardens like what this appears to be instead of working with folks to become compliant is the best use of law enforcement’s time.
There is still orange groves in SoCal?