Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called on the federal government to move “as quickly as possible” to change the way it officially classifies marijuana, saying that “nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.”
“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible,” Harris said. “We need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment. This issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently, marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin ― as dangerous as heroin ― and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd, not to mention patently unfair.”
Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. That classification designates it one of the most dangerous drugs possible, with no medicinal uses. Other substances in the same category include heroin, ecstasy and LSD. Marijuana advocates have been pushing for years for the federal government to either reschedule marijuana to a different category or deschedule it entirely.
Just so everyone knows, the DEA is actively reviewing a report from the Department of Health and Human services where they recommended to reschedule weed to a schedule 3. Biden had directed HHS to research to see if it should be rescheduled, so while biden hasn’t unilaterally legalized weed (something that would quickly be challenged in court since presidents don’t usually have unilateral power for most things), he has definitely been pushing it not be schedule 1. Which, while not legalization, would be a huge step for not just the industry but for all the medical patients out there who have had their doctors refuse to treat them because they use weed for pain.
A very important part of this is it allows for federal studies into the benefits of marijuana which is not allowed under schedule 1 status.
So instead of descheduling it, he’s looking into maybe one day thinking about starting the process of still keeping it illegal, but not as illegal.
Biden cannot de-schedule it. At most, he could issue an executive order telling the DEA to stop pursuing marijuana charges. Even if he did, the next president could just undo that. Biden is doing what he can which is calling for the AG to reschedule the drug.
There are only two ways weed can be de/rescheduled. First, is for congress to pass legislation doing so which then would need to be signed by the president. Congress is not going to do that. It’s been attempted multiple times and has never come anywhere near passing. They pretty much all died in committee.
The second way is the way mandated by by the Controlled Substances Act. That laws states that, first, someone must file a petition with the attorney general, or the AG could initiate the process themselves. The AG then sends the request to HHS Secretary to start a scientific and medical evaluation of the request. HHS and FDA then conduct an assessment and sends a recommendation to the AG. Meanwhile, the AG/DEA conduct their own review of the request. Assuming everyone agrees, the AG then initiates the standard rule making process following the Administrative Procedures Act and the White House, after it’s own review and the change can be made.
This article has a lovely, if disheartening flowchart of the process. It is a convoluted bureaucracy, but there is hope since the process was started in 2022 when President Biden instructed HHS to conduct a review into rescheduling marijuana.
HHS has since completed their review and sent a formal recommendation to the Attorney General on August 29 of 2023 recommending that marijuana be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III. The ball is currently in the DEA’s court. They have to conduct their own review and rumor has it that there are those within the DEA who disagree with Biden’s push to reschedule weed. Still, with at least half the states allowing some form of legal access to marijuana, and the FDA having approved at least one drug derived from marijuana, they will be hard pressed to find some compelling reason to go against the HHS recommendation.
Of course, I think it’s only too clear that the DEA is likely to strongly oppose this change and there are rumors that this is the case. Now it’s just a matter of the DEA dragging it’s feet before making an official announcement.
Odd. Chuck Schumer seems to think he can.
Then if he doesn’t hate the minority communities that the racist drug war was designed to disrupt, he should have done this on day 1.
We should never do anything because Republicans might undo it.
That process sounds like complete bullshit from top to bottom when compared with the process needed to sell weapons for the genocide all centrists love.
Take a civics class.
Stop accepting excuses because you like the lack of results.
Why would I like him slow walking descheduling? You don’t even make sense, you’re just saying things to score imaginary points in your head.
If you want a dictator with dictatorial powers, boy have I got a political party for you.
Everyone who isn’t happy with Democrats’ deliberate uselessness must be a trumpist who wants a dictator.
no, we live in reality. reality is we have two choices and a potential catastrophe rapidly approaching - don’t give ammo to the chuds who genuinely would like to see this wild, flawed but genuinely amazing in principle enterprise we call governance - the “America!” experiment - replaced with a trumpocratic shitocracy that empowers the worst of the worst.
We have a choice of fascism or deliberate uselessness in the face of fascism.
If you want me to shut up and be happy with deliberate uselessness in the face of fascism, tough shit. Democrats need to stop using looming fascism as an excuse to be second worst.
Second worst is not up to the task of defeating fascism. It’s not even up to the task of preventing its spread, as we’re seeing.
that’s good, youk keep empowering fascists with this shit while thinking your edgelord stance is making a difference.
Meanwhile in the real world, we’re gonna try to have a democracy after november which mean electing biden. wake the fuck up
You want a President to take actions that he’s legally not allowed to take.
So no, not everyone.
But you? Absolutely.
Schumer thinks he can take those actions. Is Chuck Schumer a Russian Chinese Trumpist tankie shill bot child too?
No, he’s just a politician. He wrote a letter to the DEA, which has ultimate authority over the drugs scheduling. While the DEA is part of the Biden administration, there are limits to what Biden can do. He can pressure them, but going beyond that is pushing the law.
Schumer is trying to pressure the DEA, and trying to pressure Biden into pressuring the DEA. But that’s all they can do, whip up public opinion.
Not to mention the politics of endorsing a statement they know will go nowhere, but their voters don’t. Politicians do it all the time.
Nope, the process to reschedule has been started, it’d be changed to schedule 3, which, unless you think tylenol with codeine is illegal, it wouldn’t be illegal anymore.
Which is just another way of saying “we’re looking into it.”
I mean technically yeah, but that’s just updating the citizens that the process is actively rolling. I’d rather be updated that things are happening as opposed to radio silence and thinking the administration is ignoring the issue.
They’re pretending that something is happening when it won’t. Some stupid bureaucratic hurdle will come up that they could circumvent if they wanted, but they’ll gleefully announce that their hands are tied.
And people like you will buy it immediately. I’m sick of the endless lies and bullshit. I’m sick of being ordered to be happy because we’re totally working on something until we get in our own way and stop it again.
That’s literally the first step that needs to happen to reschedule it.
And the only step that’s gonna happen.
Care to wager on that?
I never thought it’d be legal in my deep red midwestern state but I can go to the weed shop and buy it OTC now, they’re packed every time I go. Not sure why you think a sitting president (who’s shown signs he wants to listen the fringes of his party) wouldn’t push for rescheduling, it’s an easy win frankly. I’m pretty cynical and even I’m not that cynical.
I mean, you’ll count his next “we’re looking into it” as full recreational legalization nationwide, so no.
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Saying you’re looking into it isn’t doing anything.
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No. No it’s not.
This time for sure.