Marijuana rescheduling proposal generates nearly 43,000 comments

The Biden administration’s proposal to reclassify marijuana elicited nearly 43,000 public comments before a Monday night deadline, and the vast majority expressed support.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposed rule to move marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act received 42,925 comments, according to the Federal Register.

Nearly all comments were in favor of rescheduling, according to an analysis conducted by Seattle-based cannabis data platform Headset.

91% of the comments supported rescheduling or requested that the Biden administration take another step and deschedule the drug entirely, Headset said in a Tuesday news release sent by the National Cannabis Industry Association.

“Public health and safety demand a schedule III placement for marijuana,” Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, wrote in his comments, which he shared with MJBizDaily.

“So does the science.”

The public comment period was the latest step in an ongoing process that began in October 2022 with Biden’s executive order to Cabinet-level agencies to review the federal government’s longstanding, blanket prohibition on marijuana.

Last summer, health regulators made the revolutionary declaration that cannabis has a “currently accepted medical use” in the United States, a determination based in part on data from states with legal medical marijuana programs.

In May, the Department of Justice published a proposed rule that would downgrade marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug and included detailed legal analysis justifying the change.

That launched a 60-day public comment period that ended Monday.

A final rule on rescheduling is expected next.

Prominent comments on rescheduling include a July 22 letter from 11 state attorneys general opposing the move.

Nebraska’s attorney general, Mike Hilgers, was the first signatory, and he was joined by:

Seven of the attorneys general are from states with legal medical marijuana programs; Knudsen represents Montana, where adult-use sales are legal.

The opposing attorneys general made their comments come six months after 12 other state attorneys general expressed their support of rescheduling in a letter to DEA chief Anne Milgram.

Meanwhile, anti-rescheduling advocates have hired prominent names to speak out against the change.

For examples, anti-legalization advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana enlisted former Trump administration Attorney General William Barr as its lead author.

The public comments follow efforts by House Republicans to block marijuana rescheduling.

It’s not yet known how much influence the comments will have on the DEA’s final decision.

Nor is it known exactly when the final rule will be published.

It’s also unclear whether the DEA will schedule a hearing before an administrative law judge, which it can do under federal law.

There’s also speculation that a recent Supreme Court ruling could embolden a future Trump administration to unravel rescheduling, though some legal experts are skeptical.

Marijuana rescheduling advocates are hopeful that a final decision will be published before the November election, Bryan Barash, the vice president of public affairs at Oregon-based cannabis sales platform Dutchie, told MJBizDaily on Tuesday.

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.

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