DEA CANNABIS RESCHEDULING

PUBLIC COMMENT VIEWER

Here is a random public comment on the rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III from Rochelle Yospe.
Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is not enough. Marijuana must be removed from the CSA and be federally regulated for both medical and adult use. Rescheduling will not end federal marijuana criminalization, federal marijuana arrests, release anyone in prison for marijuana, expunge previous marijuana arrests; end deportations, immigration consequences or tourist visa restrictions stemming from marijuana activity; rescheduling will not restore access to government benefits that people have lost due to marijuana activity; bring state marijuana programs into compliance with federal law; guarantee fair working conditions for individuals working in the marijuana industry. Schedule III is insufficient, even for the marijuana industry: although placing marijuana in Schedule III would remove unfair and onerous federal tax penalties, it won’t give them legal access to essential business services, and is unlikely to result in significant wage increases for workers or lower prices for patients and consumers. More importantly, rescheduling marijuana would continue the criminalization of most marijuana activity occurring in the United States such as personal possession, cultivation, use, and participation in state-legal marijuana businesses and programs. The only way to end federal marijuana criminalization and its harms is to completely remove marijuana from the CSA, or “descheduling.” Guided by principles of public health and equity, a new federal marijuana policy should seek to end unjust criminal legal consequences for marijuana activity, restore rights and opportunities for individuals and communities targeted by marijuana criminalization, and ensure a diverse marketplace by protecting small businesses and equity programs from the emergence of national and multinational corporate monopolies. The outcome of Schedule III insufficient, the process of evaluating marijuana’s status on the CSA is also flawed. The administrative review process conducted by the FDA and DEA is, by design, limited in scope and fails to consider the racist origins and impacts of marijuana prohibition which have produced overwhelming negative social, economic, and public health consequences. These generational outcomes are still felt by predominantly Black and Latino communities experiencing mass incarceration, inaccessible public housing, and denial of food assistance programs, among other detrimental consequences that will continue under marijuana rescheduling. For decades, the U.S. has played an instrumental role in creating and enforcing marijuana prohibition at the global level with devastating consequences worldwide. With changing realities at the domestic level comes a responsibility to start repairing the damage caused by prohibitionist policies and support initiatives that lead to systemic changes in the international arena. Consequently, the U.S. should undertake active diplomacy at the United Nations level together with like-minded countries to challenge the outdated global drug control regime. Given the Biden Administration’s repeated acknowledgment of the racially discriminatory enforcement of marijuana laws and related harms, any process by the Biden Administration to develop a new federal policy for marijuana without these considerations is unjustifiable. President Biden has repeatedly promised to decriminalize marijuana. I call on the DEA not to undermine President Biden’s campaign pledge by finalizing the proposed rule to reschedule marijuana under the CSA. It is imperative for the Biden Administration to follow through on this unfulfilled commitment by taking action now to end and repair the harms of federal marijuana criminalization. Because rescheduling marijuana fails to accomplish this, I urge the DEA to reconsider this proposed rule and replace it with a new rule to deschedule marijuana from the CSA. By hiding the truth about marijuana efficacy, the federal government spent more money and effort on creating lies about marijuana, denying its medical properties and vilifying its users by imprisoning them with unsubstantiated accusations that would keep them in prison for years to lifetimes. These accusations have detrimental consequences that destroy families and ruin the lives of millions, all while claiming to protect the rights and lives of the innocent. It’s an oxymoron and it’s wrong. Keeping marijuana in a scheduled illegal rating destroys families, lives and trust.. Prison records are held to the individual who has been arrested for minimal amounts, and released back into the public, can’t get jobs to feed and house their families because of their arrest records. The system is broken and people of color are predominantly being vilified and their lives destroyed far more than white people. It’s not fair and it’s not right! Deschedule marijuana and give them back their lives, their families and their jobs!
Over 42,000 public comments were submitted. Public commenters, thank you for your courage!