Drug War Chronicle 1210 -- DEA Says Reschedule, British Columbia Recriminalizes, more...

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1210 -- 5/2/24
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1210
A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
APPEAL: Help Us Respond to the Opportunities and the Challenges of This Time
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/help_us_respond
Table of Contents:
1. DEA TO RESCHEDULE MARIJUANA -- WEED WORLD REACTS [FEATURE]
The DEA is moving to reschedule marijuana, but the industry and reformers say that is not enough.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/dea-rescheduling-reform-reaction
2. CHRONICLE BOOK REVIEW: QUICK FIXES
A witty polemic on how we must solve capitalism if we want to solve our drug and drug war problems.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/book_review_quick_fixes
3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A former Border Patrol agent heads for federal prison and a Kentucky corrections officer gets busted in Oklahoma. Let's get to it.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/weeks-corrupt-cops-stories
4. CONGRESSIONAL DEMS CALL FOR DEA TO MOVE FAST ON POT RESCHEDULING, BIDEN SIGNS FENTANYL BILL, MORE... (4/25/24)
A bill toughening penalties for hard drug selling is moving in Ohio, Thailand clears the way for the medical use of opium and magic mushrooms, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/congressmembers_say_dea_reschedule_thailand_medical_drug_use
5. DEA WARNS ON XYLAZINE IN ILLICIT FENTANYL, BC RECRIMINALIZES PUBLIC DRUG POSSESSION, MORE... (4/29/24)
A North Dakota marijuana legalization initiative campaign can begin signature-gathering, a last gasp at medical marijuana fails in Kansas, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/british_columbia_partial_recrim
6. DEA RECOMMENDS RESCHEDULING MARIJUANA, SAN FRANCISCO DRUG CRACKDOWN CONTINUES, MORE... (4/30/24)
A push to pass the SAFER Banking Act via the FAA reauthorization bill has faltered, fentanyl is wiping out opium farmers in Guatemala, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/dea_rescheduling_recommendation
7. SENATE DEMOCRATS FILE FEDERAL LEGALIZATION BILL, PUSH TO EXPAND ORGANIC GROW PROGRAM, MORE... (5/1/24)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and allies have refiled the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act and a leading certifier of organic, regenerative pot farms seeks to expand.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/senate-democrats-file-federal-pot-legalization-bill-push-expand-organic-grow-program-more
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1. DEA TO RESCHEDULE MARIJUANA -- WEED WORLD REACTS [FEATURE]
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/dea-rescheduling-reform-reaction
The DEA has proposed reclassifying marijuana by moving it from
Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the
Associated Press reported Tuesday
(https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-biden-dea-criminal-justice-pot-f833a8dae6ceb31a8658a5d65832a3b8).
The plan is for the agency to issue an interim rule reclassifying the
substance for the first time since the CSA was enacted more than 50
years ago. Attorney General Merrick Garland (D) will submit the
proposal to the White House as early as today.
The move comes months after the
Department of Health and Human Services issued a finding
(https://norml.org/blog/2024/01/12/hhs-releases-unredacted-letter-confirming-agencys-recommendation-to-dea-to-reclassify-marijuana-to-schedule-iii/)
that marijuana should be reclassified because it has potential medical
benefits and that "the vast majority of individuals who use marijuana
are doing so in a manner that does not lead to dangerous outcomes to
themselves or others." Acting on a campaign promise, the Biden
administration ordered the review in October 2022.
Rescheduling will make it easier for marijuana to be researched for
medical uses, potentially opening the door for pharmaceutical
companies to get involved in the legal marijuana industry. It will
also eliminate significant tax burdens for the industry, including IRS
code Section 280E, which bars marijuana businesses from deducting
business expenses, leading to effective rates that often go upwards of
70%.
But while it would mark the biggest change in federal marijuana policy
in a half-century, it will not make marijuana legal at the federal
level. And that leaves industry and marijuana reform advocates not
quite satisfied.
"Moving marijuana out of its absurd classification as a Schedule I
drug is long overdue and we applaud the administration for finally
acknowledging the therapeutic value that has been widely accepted by
the medical community and millions of medical cannabis patients for
decades," said Aaron Smith
(https://thecannabisindustry.org/press-releases/drug-enforcement-administration-to-initiate-historic-shift-in-federal-marijuana-policy/),
CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association CEO. "While this is
undoubtedly a very positive first step, rescheduling will not end
federal marijuana prohibition and doesn't harmonize federal law with
the laws allowing some form of legal cannabis in the vast majority of
the states. For this move to be meaningful on the ground, we need
clear enforcement guidelines issued to the DEA and FDA that would
ensure the tens of thousands of state-licensed businesses responsibly
serving cannabis to adults are not subject to sanctions or criminal
prosecution under federal laws."
"Further, it's imperative that Congress build upon this development by
passing comprehensive legislation to remove cannabis from the
Controlled Substances Act and forge a new regulatory framework for
whole plant cannabis products," added Smith.
"This is a positive step forward for federal cannabis policy, however,
it is a rather modest step given the strong support among American
voters for comprehensive cannabis reform," said Matthew Schweich
(https://www.mpp.org/news/press/us-drug-enforcement-administration-recommends-rescheduling-cannabis/),
executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "It is important
to acknowledge that this rescheduling would not affect the
criminalization of medical cannabis patients and cannabis consumers
under state laws -- so we must continue the work of enacting sensible
and fair cannabis legalization and medical cannabis laws through state
legislatures and ballot initiatives."
"It is significant for these federal agencies, and the DEA and FDA in
particular, to acknowledge publicly for the first time what many
patients and advocates have known for decades: that cannabis is a safe
and effective therapeutic agent for tens of millions of Americans,"
said Paul Armentano
(https://norml.org/blog/2024/04/30/dea-accepts-health-agencys-recommendation-to-reclassify-cannabis/),
deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML).
But, he added: "The goal of any federal cannabis policy reform ought
to be to address the existing, untenable divide between federal
marijuana policy and the cannabis laws of the majority of US states.
Rescheduling the cannabis plant to Schedule III fails to adequately
address this conflict, as existing state legalization laws -- both
adult use and medical -- will continue to be in conflict with federal
regulations, thereby perpetuating the existing divide between state
and federal marijuana policies."
Historically, Schedule III substances have received explicit market
approval by the FDA; they are only legal to possess when obtained in
licensed pharmacies under a physician's prescription.
"Just as it is intellectually dishonest and impractical to categorize
cannabis in the same placement as heroin, it is equally disingenuous
and unfeasible to treat cannabis in the same manner as anabolic
steroids and ketamine," Armentano said. "The majority of Americans
believe that cannabis ought to be legal and that its health risks are
less significant than those associated with federally descheduled
substances like alcohol and tobacco. Like those latter substances,
NORML has long argued that the cannabis plant should be removed from
the Controlled Substances Act altogether, thereby providing state
governments -- rather than the federal government -- the ability to
regulate marijuana in the manner they see fit without violating
federal law, and allowing the federal government to provide standards
and guidelines for regulated cannabis markets."
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), for its part, is calling for a
campaign to demand de-scheduling -- removing marijuana entirely from
the purview of the Controlled Substances Act -- not rescheduling. It
is part of a coalition called United for Marijuana Decriminalization
(UMD) (https://www.decriminalizemarijuana.com) that plans to launch an
ambitious outreach effort to encourage community members to tell
President Biden and the DEA that marijuana must be descheduled once
the public comment period is open. Members of the public will be able
to submit comments in support of descheduling in response to the DEA's
proposal through a simple online form. During the brief, time-limited
public comment period, UMD aims to solicit a historic number of public
comments through extensive outreach to stakeholders, particularly
those who have been harmed by marijuana criminalization, inviting
participation in the public process and emphasizing the need for
marijuana descheduling."
"Supporting federal marijuana decriminalization means supporting the
removal of marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, not changing
its scheduling," said Cat Packer
(https://drugpolicy.org/news/bidens-dea-proposes-to-reschedule-marijuana-rather-than-decriminalize-it-advocates-say-marijuana-must-be-descheduled/),
DPA director of drug markets and legal regulation. "We all deserve a
federal framework for marijuana that upholds the health, wellbeing,
and safety of our communities -- particularly Black communities who
have borne the brunt of our country’s racist enforcement of
marijuana laws. Rescheduling marijuana is not a policy solution for
federal marijuana criminalization or its harms, and it won't address
the disproportionate impact that it has had on Black and Brown
communities."
"The individuals, families and communities adversely impacted by
federal marijuana criminalization deserve more," Packer continued.
"Workers in the marijuana industry, people who use marijuana, all of
us deserve more. Congress and the Biden Administration have a
responsibility to take actions now to bring about marijuana reform
that meaningfully improves the lives of people who have been harmed by
decades of criminalization. Descheduling and legalizing marijuana the
right way isn't just good policy, it’s popular with voters, too."
The campaign has the support of some elected officials.
"While the rescheduling of marijuana is a historic step in the right
direction, anything short of descheduling falls woefully short of
remedying the harms of the current system and the failed racist War on
Drugs," said Rep. Barbara Lee
(https://drugpolicy.org/news/bidens-dea-proposes-to-reschedule-marijuana-rather-than-decriminalize-it-advocates-say-marijuana-must-be-descheduled/)
(D-CA). "Rescheduling would allow for the criminal penalties for
recreational and medical marijuana use to continue --
disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities. The
criminalization of marijuana is also increasingly out of step with
state law and public opinion. We need full descheduling and to pass
the MORE Act -- which I proudly co-lead -- as a solution for equitable
comprehensive marijuana reform rooted in racial and restorative
justice."
"Descheduling marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act is not just
a social justice issue; it's an economic, medical, and public safety
issue. Since marijuana was classified as a Schedule I substance during
the war on drugs, countless lives have been torn apart, and
individuals in primarily Black and brown communities have been
targeted for nonviolent cannabis-related offenses," said Sen. Kirsten
Gillibrand (D-NY). "Studies show that legalizing marijuana could help
reduce violence in international drug trafficking and generate
billions of dollars for the economy. The vast majority of Americans
agree that marijuana should be legalized -- that's why I’m calling
on the Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration to
swiftly deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act."
But if the industry and reformers think rescheduling does not go far
enough, we can count on professional anti-marijuana activist Dr. Kevin
Sabet of Smart Approaches to Marijuana to worry that it goes way too
far.
"Politics and industry influence have loomed over this decision from
the very beginning," Sabet said
(https://learnaboutsam.org/2024/04/biden-affirms-marijuanas-illegal-status-but-marijuana-rescheduling-decision-tainted-by-industry-influence-politics-2/).
"First, HHS refused to provide the public with the scientific basis
for its recommendation to reschedule. Then they deliberately redacted
key information about their internal process, intentionally limiting
transparency on such a major decision impacting public health. Only
when compelled by a legal challenge did they provide clarity on their
decision, which patently demonstrated that they cooked the books,
starting with the decision and working backward to find the supporting
materials."
"Now, against the recommendations of prior Attorneys General, the
medical community and law enforcement, the Administration unilaterally
reversed decades of precedent despite volumes of data confirming
marijuana's harmfulness. Moreover, a drug can be taken off Schedule I
only if it has accepted medical use -- raw, crude marijuana has never
passed safety and efficacy protocols. A drug isn't medicine because
it's popular."
"The winners from such a decision are the deep pocketed investors
desperately looking for good news in the marijuana space, given the
failures of state legalization. We hoped the Administration would
prioritize expungements and encouraging additional marijuana research
instead of making a political statement that only helps the addiction
industry."
That rhetoric may help explain why Sabet's is by way the minority
position on the issue.
================  ...
                                          ___________________
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                                       Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
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                                        Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
                                        ___________________
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