What Public Comments Say for DEA Rescheduling?
The American public had the chance to publicly comment on the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposed rule to reclassify marijuana. The call for public comments was open between 21 May and 22 July. Nearly 43,000 citizens, organizations, and experts submitted their comments. Preliminary analyses show that the majority want the proposed rule change to go further and for cannabis to be entirely scrapped from DEA’s substance schedule lists.
Initial analysis of the public comments submitted to the DEA shows that 59% of commenters approve removing marijuana from Schedule I list and decriminalizing marijuana. It’s the first time that the DEA is taking into account the opinions of Americans on cannabis.
Close to 43,000 individuals and organizations submitted comments, which represents the most the DEA has ever collected over a proposed rule change.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity that folks have had to participate in public comment on the topic of federal marijuana scheduling or the legal status of marijuana at the federal level,” said Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulations at the Drug Policy Alliance, The Guardian reported.
Public Comments to DEA Say That Rescheduling Cannabis Is Not Enough
Early analyses of the public comments indicate that the public largely believes a simple reschedule move falls short, and that the administration should entirely remove cannabis from the lists of scheduled substances. A majority of commenters want more substantial steps toward federal legalization of marijuana in the US.
The DEA’s proposed rules would toss out cannabis from Schedule I and put it under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The shift means that the FDA would no longer view cannabis as an illegal drug, and it will make marijuana eligible for medical approvals. The change is set to take place after 70 long years of prohibition of marijuana at the federal level. Its impact on the state-legal cannabis markets would be inevitable.
NORML was one of the organizations that submitted a public comment to the DEA. In its letter, the organization underscored that cannabis should be removed from the substance schedule lists entirely.
“The determination by HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] that cannabis use does not possess the same public health burden as does the use of alcohol (unscheduled), tobacco (unscheduled) or other controlled substances currently regulated in lower schedules of the CSA (e.g., benzodiazepines) is consistent with decades of worldwide scientific literature,” the marijuana advocacy organization wrote in its letter.
“While HHS ultimately recommends transferring cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, NORML wishes to emphasize that these findings similarly provide a factual basis for removing cannabis from the CSA entirely. Although the HHS is not recommending descheduling at this time, NORML asserts that this position is the most appropriate one and that descheduling cannabis should be adopted by future administrations,” the letter says.
Just a week before DEA closed the two-month period for public comments on rescheduling marijuana, there were nearly 31,000 comments submitted. This number jumped to 43,000 in the final days of the public call. The huge interest in making a response shows that Americans are willing to speak about cannabis and that it’s a subject that matters to them.
The official notice of proposed rulemaking was issued by the Department of Justice in the Federal Register on May 21, motioning the 60-day comment period which ended July 22.
While many comments appear to support DEA’s proposal to reschedule marijuana, many others state that the agency should go further and withdraw cannabis from the lists entirely. A majority of people believe that societal harms will come to an end only with descheduling cannabis.
Of course, there are also those who oppose making any changes in the schedule lists. Their main argument as usual is that cannabis acts as a gateway drug and that may cause harm to young people. Contrary to scientific literature, they also claim that marijuana does not have any medicinal value and applications.
The cannabis data firm Headset also conducted an analysis of the public comments submitted to DEA. The company used the latest version of Open AI’s large language model to deliver rapid results, according to its CEO, Cy Scott. The analysis revealed similar findings. It says that 57% of the comments supported descheduling cannabis, 35% were in favor of rescheduling, and only 8% wish that the medicinal plant remains an illegal Schedule I substance.
Also read on Soft Secrets:
- DEA Will Have Final Say on Marijuana
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Stephen Andrews
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