The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled a hearing to consider differing expert opinions on the Justice Department's proposal to federally reschedule cannabis—an extra procedural step that will take place after the November election.
After moving to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) back in March, the DOJ opened a 60-day public comment period that saw more than 40,000 submissions. Now that the DEA has reviewed the comments, it agreed to an administrative hearing, as requested by several supporters and opponents of the reform.
The hearing will be held on December 2, according to a notice set to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday.
While some advocates and stakeholders had hoped that DEA would avoid this additional step and simply move to final rulemaking, the agency has often scheduled hearings for regulatory proposals of major public interest. And rescheduling cannabis for the first time since it was designated as Schedule I over 50 years ago evidently met that standard.
That said, the hearing adds some uncertainty about the potential rescheduling timeline. There are some concerns this means the rulemaking process will not be completed before January, which could mean an administrative changeup after the November election that theoretically could affect the rescheduling process.
DEA's latest filing notes that the proposed rulemaking notice that was issued in March said that, "if the transfer to schedule III is finalized, the regulatory controls applicable to schedule III controlled substances would apply, as appropriate, along with existing cannabis-specific requirements and any additional controls that might be implemented, including those that might be implemented to meet U.S. treaty obligations."
"If cannabis is transferred into Schedule III, the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, and possession of cannabis would remain subject to the applicable criminal prohibitions of the CSA. Any drugs containing a substance within the CSA's definition of 'marijuana' would also remain subject to the applicable prohibition in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)."
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