Cannabis advocates, executives and investors are celebrating the Drug Enforcement Administration’s reported decision this week to reclassify marijuana under federal drug laws, a development that spurred rejoicing from coast to coast and a spike in cannabis stock prices. The celebrations were tempered, however, by the reality that the decision falls short of the full marijuana legalization that determined activists have been seeking for decades.

On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the DEA had decided to follow a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), citing five unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Under the recommendation, marijuana will be changed from Schedule I of the CSA, the most strict classification intended for drugs with no medical value and a high potential for abuse, to Schedule III, a group including the drugs Tylenol with codeine and testosterone.

The groundbreaking decision to reschedule cannabis will facilitate research into the medicinal benefits of the plant that could lead to new treatments for an unknown number of physical and mental health conditions. As a Schedule I drug, cannabis research was subjected to the strictest regulatory conditions under federal law, hampering studies that could result in meaningful medical advances.

Rescheduling cannabis under federal drug laws will also have significant impacts on the regulated cannabis industry. Perhaps most significantly, the change will ease access to banking services and free licensed cannabis companies from IRS rule 280e, which denies most standard business deductions to companies selling Schedule I substances. 

Pot Advocates Hail DEA Decision

After the DEA decision to reschedule cannabis was reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, the move was hailed by policymakers, cannabis activists and entrepreneurs as an historic milestone in U.S. drug policy reform. In Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, Democratic Governor Jared Polis hailed the historic moment.

“I am thrilled by the Biden Administration’s decision to begin the process of finally rescheduling cannabis, following the lead of Colorado and 37 other states that have already legalized it for medical or adult use, correcting decades of outdated federal policy,” Polis said in a statement. “This action is good for Colorado businesses and our economy, it will improve public safety, and will support a more just and equitable system for all.”

Chuck Smith, president of the board of directors for Colorado Leads, an alliance of cannabis business leaders created to educate the public and policymakers about the importance of a safe and regulated cannabis industry, said that “reclassification under Schedule III will address the 280e tax issue that has unfairly forced state-legal cannabis businesses to pay a far higher effective tax rate than other legal businesses. Allowing marijuana businesses to start deducting ordinary business expenses will allow Colorado companies to retain more revenue, employ more workers, and further invest in their surrounding communities.”

Ali Garawi, the co-founder and CEO of California independent cannabis operator Muha Meds, said the rescheduling of cannabis will allow funds that are now going to taxes to instead be invested in the growth of the company.

“Like many in cannabis, we have had to really think outside the box in terms of financing. At Muha Meds, we’re entirely self-funded, which has forced us to be incredibly calculated with growth. No longer bound to 280e Tax Regulations leftover from the war on drugs, we will be able to utilize funding that we didn’t have the right to before,” Garawi writes in an email to High Times. “We are looking forward to tremendous growth opportunities and some ease of restrictions in terms of just running a business.”

Bob Groesbeck, co-CEO of Planet 13, a multistate operator that owns what is billed as the world’s largest dispensary in Las Vegas, said that the DEA decision will also result in easier access to traditional banking services for cannabis companies. Advocates of regulated cannabis in Congress have offered legislation to allow banks to serve marijuana businesses over the last 10 years, but so far the Senate has failed to approve the bill.

“Rescheduling cannabis should pave the way for much-needed safe banking solutions. Safe banking in the cannabis industry provides a secure environment for financial transactions, granting access to essential services like checking accounts and loans,” Groesbeck noted. “It ensures transparency, reduces costs associated with cash handling, and offers consumers safe and convenient payment options. Overall, safe banking is crucial for industry growth, regulatory compliance, and enhancing consumer experiences.”

Activists Call for More Siginificant Reform

Although the rescheduling of cannabis was hailed by much of the cannabis community, the DEA decision does not achieve the full legalization of cannabis that has been fought for over decades, leading activists to call for more significant reform. Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said that marijuana should not be regulated by the CSA at all, noting that commonly used but potentially dangerous drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are readily available to adults.

“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,” Armentano said in a statement from the group. “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.”

Sarah Gersten, the executive director of Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit working to secure the release of all individuals incarcerated for cannabis offenses, said that the group will continue advocating for more wide-reaching reform.

“Last Prisoner Project believes that complete descheduling and full legalization of cannabis is a necessary step towards correcting past injustices and creating a fair and equitable criminal legal system,” Gersten said in a statement from the group. “We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that individuals burdened with past cannabis convictions have their records expunged and that all cannabis prisoners are released, regardless of the federal scheduling decision. Despite not achieving full legalization, we must use this historic moment to push the fight for cannabis justice forward, and we intend to do so by leveraging this reclassification for broader criminal legal reforms as outlined here.”

Weed Stocks Rally

Despite falling short of marijuana legalization, the DEA rescheduling decision sent share prices of cannabis stocks to significant gains in Tuesday trading. Multistate operator Trulieve spiked nearly 30% Tuesday afternoon, CNBC reported, while Curaleaf jumped 19% to a 52-week high. 

MarketWatch reported that Toronto-based TerrAscend was up more than 25%, while Green Thumb Industries Inc. rose by more than 22% and Cresco Labs Inc. climbed nearly 14%.

Emily Paxhia, co-founder of cannabis investments firm Poseidon Investment Management, said she expects a “surge in liquidity as sidelined capital enters the market, drawn by the potential for legal businesses to thrive” as regulated cannabis companies face off against the entrenched unlicensed cannabis market.

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the Biden administration, will move to reclassify cannabis under Schedule III, meaning its medical benefits will be recognized by the federal government, the Associated Press first reported today. By all accounts, it’s a historic move by the DEA and the federal government as the plant was wrongly classified as a substance with no accepted medical value, for decades.

The DEA’s move to reclassify cannabis must first be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and for the first time in 50 years would recognize the medical uses of cannabis. The move to Schedule III was recently recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). By definition, Schedule I substances are criminally prohibited under federal law because they possess a “high potential” for abuse and have no currently accepted medical use. 

Leadership from The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) broke down the pros and cons of Schedule III and why this move is so historic.

“While the DEA’s decision fails to go far enough, it represents the first time the agency has ever abandoned its ‘Flat Earth’ position toward cannabis and acknowledged that the substance possesses legitimate therapeutic utility and that it doesn’t belong in the same federal classification as heroin,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano tells High Times. 

It won’t erase the discord between federal and state law fully, however. Armentano continues, “Unfortunately, this move—if and when finalized—continues to perpetuate the growing divide between federal marijuana laws and the marijuana laws of most states. It also fails to align with public opinion, as most Americans would like to see cannabis treated more like alcohol than like anabolic steroids.”

Fifty Years Under Schedule I

For the Scientific American, David Downs reported in 2016 that disgraced former Attorney General John Mitchell of the Nixon administration placed cannabis in this category as part of the classification or “scheduling” of all drugs under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.

U.S. leaders also provided comments on the DEA announcement.

“If today’s reporting proves true, we will be one step closer to ending the failed war on drugs,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer said in an emailed statement obtained by High Times. “Marijuana was scheduled more than 50 years ago based on stigma, not science. The American people have made clear in state after state that cannabis legalization is inevitable. The Biden-Harris Administration is listening.” 

According to the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), moving cannabis to Schedule III is expected to lift the unfair burden of 280E on thousands of state-legal cannabis businesses. The Legal Intelligencer reported that Schedule III would remove the prohibitions against tax deductions under tax code 280E.

“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 CEO, Aaron Smith. “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. In order 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.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Cannabis Industry Reacts

The US Cannabis Council (USCC) aims to be the voice of America’s regulated cannabis industry. “The US Cannabis Council strongly supports the move by the DEA to reclassify cannabis at a lower level under the Controlled Substances Act,” USCC Executive Director Edward Conklin said in a statement. “President Biden and his Administration should be commended for recognizing that cannabis was wrongly classified as a Schedule I controlled substance and pursuing an administrative review to reclassify it.

“The proposed DEA rule implements the recommendations of the Department of Health and Human Services, which were based on an extensive scientific review by the Food and Drug Administration. Once finalized, the reclassification of cannabis to Schedule III will mark the most significant federal cannabis reform in modern history and place the nation on a clear path toward our ultimate goal of federal legalization…”

High Times also received a high volume of comments from cannabis business leadership.

“Today’s decision by the DEA to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III is one of the most monumental developments that cannabis has seen in years and is a crucial step in undoing the harms caused by the failed and discriminatory War on Drugs,” said Matt Darin, CEO of Curaleaf. “We are thankful to President Biden and his Administration for helping to push this process forward. This ruling reflects evolving attitudes towards the plant, recognizing its well-documented therapeutic value and medicinal applications. It’s very clear that the country is ready for this step, given that 92% of Americans are now in support of legalization in some form. As the cannabis industry undergoes regulatory transformations, Curaleaf remains committed to collaborating with regulatory authorities, industry members, and the broader community to ensure the responsible and sustainable growth of the cannabis sector. The future for the cannabis industry is real and we look forward to seeing what 2024 has in store.”

“AYR Wellness applauds the historic proposal by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, in alignment with the science-backed recommendation made earlier this year by the Department of Health and Human Services,” David Goubert, President & CEO of AYR Wellness.

It’s now up to the OMB at the White House to give final approval of the DEA’s move to reschedule cannabis.

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has urged a federal appeals court to deny a doctor’s attempt to administer psilocybin to dying patients under so-called Right to Try legislation, arguing that such laws do not provide for exemptions to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). 

Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, co-founder of the Advanced Integrative Medical Science Institute, a psychedelics research and treatment clinic based in Seattle, has sued the DEA several times for authorization to use psilocybin as a treatment for depression and anxiety by terminally ill patients. Aggarwal’s legal actions are based on federal and state Right to Try laws, which permit patients with terminal illnesses to use investigational drugs for therapeutic purposes before they are approved for general use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Psilocybin, the compound primarily responsible for the psychedelic effects of magic mushrooms, has been shown through clinical research to have great potential as a treatment for serious mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance misuse disorders. The compound has been designated as a “breakthrough therapy” by the FDA but remains a Schedule I drug under the CSA, a classification reserved for drugs with no medical value.

The state of Washington approved a Right to Try bill in 2017, the same year former President Donald Trump signed the federal Right to Try Act into law. Aggarwal argues in his legal action that the legislation gives him the right to administer psilocybin to his patients with terminal illnesses.

The DEA, however, has rejected Aggarwal’s attempts to gain the authority to administer psilocybin to his patients. In its rationale for rejecting a 2022 petition seeking such authority, the DEA argued that treating terminally ill patients with psychedelics would be inconsistent with maintaining public health and safety. Aggarwal also claims the DEA wants him to register as a researcher to administer psilocybin, which is not a requirement of the federal Right to Try Act.

Aggarwal appealed the DEA decision to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, arguing that it was arbitrary and inconsistent with public health interests and established legal precedent. In February, he argued that the DEA must explain how its decision is consistent with the CSA and its own policies, noting that the agency has issued waivers for the therapeutic use of other Schedule I drugs, including the use of medical cannabis by children.

In a filing to the court last week, the DEA said that the Right to Try Act amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act but does not affect the CSA. The agency also said doctors who wish to administer controlled substances must abide by both statutes.

“The CSA and the FDCA (which the Right to Try Act amends) are separate regulatory schemes with separate requirements and restrictions,” the DEA wrote, as quoted by Green Market Report. “Nothing in the Right to Try Act changes that.”

The DEA also argued that the court should reject Aggarwal’s claims because he has not provided sufficient evidence to support them. The law enforcement agency also said it could not adequately evaluate his plan to administer psilocybin because he did not give enough information to justify the waiver he was requesting.

Shawn Hauser, a partner at the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, slammed the DEA’s position, saying the agency “continues to overtly misinterpret the law using unlawful delay tactics to deny terminally ill patients access to life-saving medicines that federal law affords them access to.”

“Federal Right to Try laws were designed to allow eligible, terminally ill patients who qualify to use investigational new drugs that have undergone clinical trials (such as psilocybin), even if they are Schedule I substances,” Hauser wrote in an email to High Times. 

“The law includes a clear exception to the FDCA’s safety/efficacy requirements that allow the use of unapproved, investigational drugs, such as psilocybin, that have completed successful FDA trials, by terminally ill patients,” she added. “This seems to be another excuse and obstruction by the DEA to deny patients access to a life-saving treatment that studies clearly demonstrate can be used safely as medicine.”

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Senator Mitt Romney of Utah and two of his Republican colleagues have sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration, urging the law enforcement agency to decline a bid to reschedule marijuana under federal drug laws. Cannabis is currently listed under Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a designation reserved for drugs with no accepted medical value and a high potential for abuse.

The letter, which was signed by Romney and Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho and Nebraska’s Senator Pete Ricketts, was addressed to Drug Enforcement Administrator Anne Milgram. All three lawmakers are members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In the letter, the senators expressed concerns over a Biden administration proposal to reclassify cannabis under the CSA. 

In August 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended that the DEA reclassify marijuana by moving it from Schedule I of the CSA to Schedule III, a classification intended for “drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” such as Tylenol with codeine or ketamine. The trio of Republican senators urged the DEA administer to carefully consider the HHS proposal.

“Any effort to reschedule marijuana must be based on proven facts and scientific evidence — not the favored policy of a particular administration — and account for our treaty obligations,” the senators wrote in their letter.

The senators noted in their letter that cannabis is controlled by international treaty, “which is not surprising given its known dangers and health risks — and the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has fiercely criticized efforts to legalize marijuana in other countries as a violation of the treaty.”

International policy on marijuana is governed by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, an international treaty adopted in 1961 and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1967. Under the treaty, the United States is required to implement certain controls over drugs covered by the international agreement, including marijuana. The CSA implements those treaty obligations in U.S. domestic law and requires the U.S. Attorney General to place marijuana in the schedule that he or she deems most appropriate to carry out the country’s obligations under the Single Convention.

“In prior rescheduling proceedings, the DEA has determined that section 811(d) requires it to classify marijuana as a schedule I or II drug in order to comply with our treaty obligations under the Single Convention,” the letter continued, referring to the relevant section of the international treaty.

“It is important that the DEA continues to follow the law and abide by our treaty commitments,” the senators wrote. 

The senators also requested more information including whether rescheduling marijuana would affect whether other countries comply with drug treaty provisions “including for deadly narcotics like fentanyl,” asking the agency to respond to a list of questions by April 12.

The letter also cites a recent study that showed that daily marijuana use was associated with a 25% increase in the risk of a heart attack and a 42% increase in the risk of stroke. They also noted that other research has linked cannabis use “with serious psychotic consequences, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.”

On Wednesday morning, Romney took to social media to share the letter he and his Republican colleagues sent to Biden administration officials at the DEA.

“To be blunt: rescheduling marijuana may cause the U.S. to violate obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs,” Romney wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Efforts to reschedule marijuana must be based on evidence, not politics, and @DEAhq must ensure we abide by our treaty commitments.”

Despite the senators’ fears, Jason Adelstone, a senior associate attorney with national cannabis law firm Vicente LLP, said that international treaties do not preclude the federal government from reclassifying cannabis under Schedule III of the CSA.

“The erroneous and unsubstantiated fears about marijuana are based on fictional ‘war on drugs’ themes and not the current state of medical and scientific knowledge about marijuana,” he wrote in an email to High Times. “The letter contained several incorrect statements, including the mistaken assumption that moving marijuana to Schedule III would somehow violate the Single Convention.”

“However, the Single Convention specifically endorses ensuring medical and scientific access to controlled substances,” Adelstone continued. “Moving marijuana to Schedule III would better promote medical and scientific access to marijuana.”

The DEA is currently reviewing the HHS proposal to reschedule marijuana, but the agency has not announced a timeline for the decision.

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wants to send the Biden administration a message: End prohibition of cannabis, once and for all, by fully descheduling it rather than simply rescheduling it to a slightly less restrictive category. The time is right for real change.

On Sunday, the senator called for Attorney General Merrick Garland and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to act to deschedule cannabis at a press conference in Harlem, New York. Cannabis is currently classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance, the most restrictive category and the same as heroin, with “no currently accepted medical use.”

“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,” Gillibrand said. “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.”

Most recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended that the DEA move cannabis to schedule III after careful review by federal authorities, but that may not be enough. High Times asked the senator why it’s critical to deschedule cannabis entirely, versus simply moving it to a less restrictive category.

“Rescheduling marijuana will not correct the wrongs of our current judicial system, which has historically targeted Black and brown communities for marijuana related offenses,” Gillibrand told High Times. 

The senator continued, “Descheduling marijuana is a critical step toward decriminalization, and it could also reduce violence in international drug trafficking, make the United States competitive in global markets, and generate billions of dollars for the economy.”

Gillibrand is joined by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, New York State Senator Cordell Cleare, New York City Council Member Yusef Salaam, New York State Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs, New York State Assemblymember Rev. Al Taylor, Executive Director of Empire State NORML David Holland, and business leaders across New York. Gillibrand also reiterated her stance on social media as the 2024 general election gears up.

“Classifying marijuana as a Schedule I drug—something more dangerous than cocaine or fentanyl—has harmed communities and denied critical relief to vulnerable patients,” the senator posted on X. “It’s time to legalize and deschedule marijuana altogether.”

The current status of cannabis at the federal level puts individuals at risk, some more than others.

Gillibrand’s Ongoing Support for Cannabis Reform

The senator has voiced her opinion that cannabis should be legal at the federal level several times before, including the campaign trail of the 2020 general election. In 2017, Gillibrand introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect (CARERS) Act with Al Franken, Rand Paul, and Cory Booker, and then in 2018, she cosponsored the Marijuana Justice Act along with Sen. Booker.

In 2019, when she was running for president of the U.S., Gillibrand released a plan for the national legalization of cannabis, saying that she would make the issue a “top priority” of her presidency.

“America’s federal prohibition of marijuana needs to end now,” Gillibrand wrote, acknowledging the need for access to medical cannabis. “Millions of Americans seek medical marijuana to treat chronic or severe pain — often in an effort to avoid prescription opioids — but access is limited by insurance coverage and availability of medical marijuana dispensaries, even in states where medical marijuana is legal,” Gillibrand wrote. “We should be expanding patients’ access to treatment they need, especially when it helps reduce addiction to dangerous medications.”

Little action at the federal level isn’t helping anyone, and she believes supporting cannabis could be a major factor in the upcoming general election.

A Boost for Biden

Federal authorities have been toying with the idea of rescheduling cannabis to schedule III, and cannabis would be regulated like Tylenol III’s or hormone replacement therapy. If the HHS’ recommendation to reschedule cannabis on the federal Controlled Substances Act becomes a reality, it could make an impact on President Joe Biden’s favorability ahead of the upcoming 2024 presidential election. There is now data to support that idea.

A recent survey found broad support across demographics and suggested Biden could see an 11% favorability boost if it occurs.

The survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners, revealed a number of key findings surrounding registered voters and attitudes surrounding cannabis, namely that Biden could boost his favorability by 11% among younger voters should cannabis move from Schedule I to Schedule III.

“By the end of the poll, impressions of Biden improve by a net double-digits—an 11-point swing overall, including a double-digit (+11-point) swing among younger voters,” the survey notes. 

“In conclusion, rescheduling cannabis is not only the right move from a policy perspective, it is also politically helpful,” the survey concludes. “Nowhere is this more true than for younger voters—one of the most cross-pressured groups of voters, and also the most sanguine about rescheduling.”

New York leaders like Gillibrand believe reclassifying cannabis under schedule III does not go far enough. Instead, the Biden administration should take a bolder move and deschedule it altogether, giving Americans what they clearly want.

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If the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation to reschedule cannabis on the federal Controlled Substances Act becomes a reality, it could make an impact on President Joe Biden’s favorability ahead of the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

A new survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners, revealed a number of key findings surrounding registered voters and attitudes surrounding cannabis, namely that Biden could boost his favorability by 11% among younger voters should cannabis move from Schedule I to Schedule III.

To gather the data, researchers engaged 900 likely voters through phone calls and text-to-online outreach. The survey includes oversamples of younger voters and voters in presidential battleground states (100 voters aged 18-25 and 200 voters in battleground states, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin).

A Look at Voter Opinions on Cannabis Rescheduling

The survey looked more generally at the support behind rescheduling cannabis, with 58% of participants showing support and 19% opposed. Researchers said that support also crossed most demographic lines, and no more than one-third of voters in any major subgroup was opposed to rescheduling. Young voters, those aged 18-25, showed the strongest levels of support for rescheduling at 65%, with nearly half indicating they felt strongly about the issue. Support was strong across age demographics, with seniors showing support by a double-digit margin.

Democrats and independents also showed strong support (74% to 7% and 55% to 15%, respectively), while Republicans were more divided (41% to 31%) despite showing more support overall. The survey also found that younger Republicans and Republican women were disproportionately more supportive.

Two-thirds (66%) of voters also said that Biden should accept the recommendation, with young voters 18-25 showing overwhelming support (84% with 77% indicating they felt strongly about their answer). 

Researchers also found that attacking rescheduling didn’t sway voters, despite the fact that “no punches were pulled” in articulating the opposing viewpoints. These include the rescheduling proposal being a “half measure,” comparing cannabis regulation unfavorably to regulating alcohol, the argument that it will provide “massive profits to pharmaceutical companies” while resulting in “hundreds of thousands of Americans behind bars for marijuana-related offenses).

After reviewing opposing arguments for rescheduling cannabis, 58% voters continued to support rescheduling while 18% opposed. Support among young voters remained strong, with 66% behind rescheduling including 50% with strong support.

A Potential Boost for Biden?

“By the end of the poll, impressions of Biden improve by a net double-digits — an 11-point swing overall, including a double-digit (+11-point) swing among younger voters,” the survey notes. 

“In conclusion, rescheduling cannabis is not only the right move from a policy perspective, it is also politically helpful,” the survey concludes. “Nowhere is this more true than for younger voters—one of the most cross-pressured groups of voters, and also the most sanguine about rescheduling.”

Concrete talks of rescheduling cannabis first began in Oct. 2022, when Biden made a statement asking the secretary of HHS and the attorney general to review the scheduling of cannabis under federal law. In Aug. 2023, the HHS submitted its recommendation to the DEA to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recently said they support reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III substance, which would make medical cannabis and the research supporting it federally legal but still heavily regulated.

The DEA has final authority to schedule, reschedule or deschedule a drug under the DEA and is currently conducting its review. However, there is currently no specific timeframe on when the DEA will make its decision.

Researchers also note that the findings of the survey align with a recent Gallup poll, which found that support for legal cannabis hit a record high of 70% among all adults in the U.S. Namely, they highlight that the poll found the highest levels of support in the youngest age cohort, with 78% of the 18-34 age group supporting legalization.

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Republican U.S. Representative David Joyce of Ohio will soon introduce a new bill to legalize cannabis at the federal level, according to a report from Forbes published on Wednesday. 

The new legislation is characterized as a “modernized” version of a bill Joyce introduced in 2019 known as the STATES Act. Although the measure has not yet been formally introduced in the House of Representatives, a draft of Joyce’s new bill is titled the STATES 2.0 Act. 

If passed, the legislation would remove cannabis from Schedule l of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, cannabis products that are grown or manufactured outside of a state-regulated market would remain illegal under federal law, allowing states that do not want to legalize marijuana a way to maintain prohibition within their jurisdictions.

“States and [Native American] tribes have had enough with the federal government’s half-in-half-out approach that is applied without rhyme or reason,” Joyce, the co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Forbes in an interview. “Numerous tribes and over 40 states now, including my own, have made it clear that the federal government needs to support their cannabis laws. I’m hopeful this legislation will do just that.”

Despite the popularity of cannabis legalization, political leaders in many states would prefer to keep recreational marijuana illegal. With provisions that maintain the federal illegality of marijuana produced outside of a regulated market, Joyce’s bill allows states to take the lead on cannabis policy.

“This legislation would make it the federal government’s policy to recognize and legitimize the decisions of each state,” said a spokesperson for the congressman. “If the state decides they want to remain prohibitory, the federal government will provide enforcement, if a state decides they want to legalize, the federal government will provide regulation.”

Federal Agencies Would Regulate Cannabis

Joyce’s bill tasks the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) with regulating cannabis at the federal level, similar to the agency’s responsibilities for regulating alcohol. The TTB would issue permits for state-regulated cannabis companies, maintain a track-and-trace system to monitor the production and movement of marijuana and cannabis products, collect taxes and enforce penalties. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be responsible for regulating cannabis-infused foods and products that make medical claims under the authority of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. 

The federal government’s activities to regulate cannabis would be funded by a federal excise tax, although the bill does not include a specific tax rate. The legislation does, however, call for federal taxes to be set “low enough so as not to exacerbate state taxes,” according to the Forbes report.

Joyce’s bill does not prohibit the interstate trade of cannabis, setting the stage for a truly national market for regulated cannabis. The regulated cannabis industry would also be free of an IRS regulation known as 280e that denies most standard business tax business, a development that would prop up the industry rife with operators struggling to make ends meet because of high taxes and regulatory fees.

Shawn Hauser,  a partner at the cannabis law firm Vicente LLP, said that under the bill, “cannabis activity in legal, regulated states would no longer be considered trafficking under the CSA and would be subject to federal regulation and protections, while federal illegality would be upheld in states who have not yet legalized marijuana.”

“This gives us a clear, immediate path to resolving the federal-state cannabis conflict,” Hauser wrote in an email to High Times. “This bill is a promising development as it is a state rights approach preferred by opponents of legalization.”

Andrew Freedman, the executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation, collaborated with Joyce and his staff on the bill. He sees this legislation as an avenue to appeal to lawmakers who are currently against reforming the nation’s marijuana laws.

“Despite cannabis pulling at 70%, it remains extremely divisive,” said Freedman. “If we’re going move forward as a country on this, we’re going have to acknowledge the realities of the fact that over half of America now has access to adult-use cannabis, while not saying this has to happen everywhere.”

Freedman added that he believes Joyce’s bill could gain support in Congress, despite the dysfunction in the House of Representatives that culminated with the removal of California GOP Representative Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House in October.

“Because it has something today that is helpful to states that don’t want legalization, it has a political power that potentially no other bill has,” Freedman said. “In theory, this has everything that a Republican should want, while moving away from the nonsensical stance the federal government has had on cannabis.”

Joyce drafted the new STATES 2.0 Act in collaboration with several other lawmakers, at least some of whom are expected to sign on as co-sponsors of the legislation. Joyce’s legislative team also received input from stakeholders and groups including Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy organization founded by billionaire Charles Koch. A spokesperson for Joyce said that the congressman expects to introduce the bill in the House of Representatives sometime this week.

“This is a significant step in the right direction for cannabis reform! Removing marijuana from Schedule I is long overdue, and the STATES 2.0 Act addresses two major concerns for the industry: the unfair 280e tax burden and the limitations on interstate commerce,” Jeffrey M. Zucker, president of Denver-based cannabis consulting firm Green Lion Partners, tells High Times. “Both of these changes are crucial for the responsible growth and development of the legal cannabis market.”

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A handful of cannabis companies recently initiated a lawsuit with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the negative effects of federal prohibition, which hinders their business. According to the plaintiffs, which includes Massachusetts-based Canna Provisions Inc., Wiseacre Farm, Inc., and Gyasi Sellers, and Illinois-based Verano Holdings Corp., the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) causes harm to their respective businesses and is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit document filed on Oct. 26 refers to a court ruling, Gonzales v. Raich, from nearly 20 years ago. “In 2005, the United States Supreme Court held that because Congress intended to ‘eradicate’ marijuana from interstate commerce, including both economic and noneconomic uses of marijuana, the federal government had a rational and therefore lawful purpose in intruding on the states’ internal regulation of marijuana,” the lawsuit stated. “…This unjustified intrusion of federal power harms Plaintiffs, threatens the communities they serve, and lacks any rational purpose.”

The plaintiffs are represented by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner and Lesser, Newman, Aleo, & Nasser LLP, specifically principal David Boies, who has previously represented clients such as Microsoft, Al Gore, and a wide variety of others since it was founded in 1997.

Boies explained that with more than 38 states legalizing cannabis, the 2005 court case is. “Outdated precedents from decades ago no longer apply—the Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce; moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true,”

Canna Provisions Inc. offers free training for those interested in a job in the legal cannabis industry, but because it’s illegal under the CSA, it “has been barred by one of the primary career services organizations in Massachusetts, MassHire, from posting jobs or running workshops.” Employees have also had their personal bank accounts closed and mortgages decline due to working “in a lawful intrastate marijuana businesses.”

While Wiseacre Farm, Inc. cultivates legally in Massachusetts, it was barred from leasing more farming land because its activities were deemed illegal under the CSA. “That illegal status renders farmers unwilling to lease their underused farmland to Wiseacre Farm out of fear that having marijuana cultivated on their land will cause them to lose federal agriculture grant money,” the lawsuit explained.

Gyasi Sellers, who is CEO of the delivery service Treevit, delivers to communities that were negatively impacted by the War on Drugs and offers jobs for ex-offenders, but faced many hurdles in order to operate his legitimate business. “These include not being able to obtain loans from the Small Business Administration, which deems his and all other marijuana businesses ‘ineligible for SBA financial assistance,’ regardless of whether they comply with state law,” the document stated.

Finally, Verano Holdings Corp., which is a Canadian-based company that is primarily based in Illinois but also operates in Massachusetts and in other states as well. However, the restrictions of the CSA prevent them from conducting various cultivation, manufacturing, medical, and adult-use licenses. “Because of that illegal status, Verano faces ongoing harms, including that Verano’s Massachusetts retail operations are unable to accept credit cards,” the document stated. “That illegal status also results in Verano having to pay higher insurance premiums and limits Verano in terms of service providers willing to work with the company.”

Following all of these individual experiences with the difficulties of operating a cannabis business under the CSA, the section concluded: “All of these harms, along with numerous other harms to Plaintiffs alleged herein, are caused by the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”

In a press statement, Boies explained how federal criminalization of safe cannabis businesses is unfair and denies small businesses the opportunity and services that they should be eligible for. “The federal government lacks authority to prohibit intrastate cannabis commerce,” Boies said. “Outdated precedents from decades ago no longer apply—the Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce; moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”

Verano President Darren Weiss explained their intention to have the CSA ruled unconstitutional. “We are prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years,” Weiss said. “We believe that the Supreme Court will adhere to the core value on which our country was founded and which is central to guaranteeing freedom: that the federal government’s powers are limited.”

Canna Provisions CEO and co-founder, Meg Sanders, also explained their desire for equal treatment as all other Massachusetts-based small businesses.

Many other lawsuits have attempted to challenge or address the CSA, including the previously mentioned 2005 Gonzales v. Raich lawsuit. In May 2022, a Pennsylvania court ruled that cannabis is still a controlled substance, but in October 2022, a Nevada state judge ruled that cannabis should be removed from the state list of controlled substances.

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Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law which would allow California doctors to immediately begin writing prescriptions for MDMA and psilocybin medications should the federal government choose to reschedule them.

Gov. Newsom signed AB 1021 on Saturday in an effort to prepare California doctors ahead of expected federal movement regarding psychedelics like MDMA and psilocybin, which have increasingly shown effectiveness against several different mental health related issues. MDMA and psilocybin mushrooms are currently considered Schedule 1 narcotics under the Controlled Substances Act.

“Notwithstanding any other law, if a substance listed in Schedule I of Section 11054 is excluded from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act and placed on a schedule of the act other than Schedule I, or if a product composed of one of these substances is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and either placed on a schedule of the act other than Schedule I, or exempted from one or more provisions of the act, so as to permit a physician, pharmacist, or other authorized healing arts licensee acting within their scope of practice, to prescribe, furnish, or dispense that product, the physician, pharmacist, or other authorized healing arts licensee who prescribes, furnishes, or dispenses that product in accordance with federal law shall be deemed to be in compliance with state law governing those acts,” the bill said.

In layman’s terms, all that legal language means that AB 1021 actually allows for any substance currently listed under Schedule 1 (heroin, LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, cannabis and peyote to name a few) to be prescribed by California doctors if rescheduled, not just limited to MDMA and psilocybin though they are the current most likely candidates for rescheduling other than cannabis. The bill actually specified that none of these changes apply to cannabis because they have already been addressed in other legislation.

“This section does not apply to cannabis or a cannabis product, as defined in Section 26001 of the Business and Professions Code. However, cannabis or cannabis products may be authorized pursuant to Section 11150.2,” the bill said.

AB 1021 does not allow for doctors to start writing prescriptions just yet but after years of research and studies the FDA could be prepared to reschedule these medications as early as next year, further confirmed by recent results of a phase 3 clinical trial which concluded that MDMA effectively reduced symptoms for treatment-resistant patients with moderate to severe PTSD. 

“Thanks to the combined efforts of dozens of therapists, hundreds of participants who volunteered in MAPS-sponsored trials, and many thousands of generous donors, MDMA-assisted therapy is on track to be considered for approval by the FDA in 2024,” said Rick Doblin, founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) which sponsored the study. 

Gov. Newsom also signed a bill into law on Saturday concerning cannabis edible testing. AB 623 essentially established what’s called a testing variance for edible cannabis products that are considered lower-dose than the current standard dose of 10 milligrams. 

A testing variance means that it’s hard to make cannabis edibles all exactly one very specific dose so the law currently allows for the dose to be off plus or minus 10 percent of the 10 milligram dose, loosely meaning if it falls within 9-11 milligrams it will pass. What AB 623 did was require the California Department of Cannabis Control to establish what the variance should be for products that have less than five milligrams of THC in total to provide more consistency (less variance) for people who use lower-dose products.

“Ultimately, this bill tasks the [the Department of Cannabis Control] with the responsibility to determine what the appropriate testing variances should be for those products with a lower level of THC than what is currently specified in statute as 10 milligrams to ensure that testing standards are consistent, accurate and appropriate for smaller dosing sizes,” said state analysis of the bill.

Still sitting on the governor’s desk is a bill that would decriminalize psychedelics in California, a bill that would severely restrict packaging options for California cannabis companies, a bill to legalize cannabis cafes, some proposed changes to the track and trace system, a bill that would let certain elderly people with chronic diseases consume cannabis at the hospital, and a bill that would prevent employers from asking about past cannabis use on job applications. 

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A recent report from Harm Reduction International (HRI) sheds light on how richer countries like the United States and Europe continue to provide substantial foreign aid for the global War on Drugs. However, rather than addressing issues like poverty, hunger, healthcare, and education, this money is primarily allocated to law enforcement and military efforts. As anyone familiar with the War on Drugs knows, the police and feds rarely make things better, especially when given firearms. 

As a result, the HRI is calling upon governments, including the U.S., to “stop using money from their limited aid budgets” to endorse policies that adversely affect individuals who use drugs. Doing so is inflicting more harm than good; the money could go towards other things, and it’s just plain expensive. 

The “Aid for the War on Drugs” report reveals that between 2012 and 2021, 30 donor countries allocated $974 million in international aid for “narcotics control.” 

Shockingly, some of this aid, totaling at least $70 million, was directed to countries with the death penalty for drug-related charges. The funding allocated to 16 governments that carry out executions for drug-related convictions is especially troubling. 

As detailed in the report, in 2021, U.S. aid funds went to Indonesia to back a “counter narcotics training program.” This occurred in the same year when Indonesia imposed a record-breaking 89 death sentences for drug-related offenses. Japan gave millions to Iran to help pay for their drug-detection dog units, while Iran executed at least 131 people over drugs in 2021.

In the span of a decade, the United States emerged as the most significant contributor, accounting for more than half of the global funding for the drug war, clocking in at $550 million. Following the U.S. were the European Union ($282 million), Japan ($78 million), the United Kingdom ($22 million), Germany ($12 million), Finland ($9 million), and South Korea ($8 million), Marijuana Moment reports. 

The War on Drugs receives more foreign aid than school food, early childhood education, labor rights, and mental health care. In the period described by the report, 92 countries received assistance for “narcotics control.” The top recipients were Colombia ($109 million), Afghanistan ($37 million), Peru ($27 million), Mexico ($21 million), Guatemala, and Panama ($10 million each). 

“There is a long history of drug policy being used by world powers to strengthen and enforce their control over other populations, and target specific communities,” the report reads. “Racist and colonial dynamics continue to this day, with wealthier governments, led by the U.S., spending billions of taxpayer dollars around the world to bolster or expand punitive drug control regimes and related law enforcement.”

“These funding flows are out of pace with existing evidence, as well as international development, health, and human rights commitments, including the goal to end AIDS by 2030,” the report calls out. “They rely on and reinforce systems that disproportionately harm Black, Brown and Indigenous people worldwide.”

While certain countries, like the U.K., have reduced their expenditure on foreign War on Drugs initiatives, others have chosen to increase their funding. For instance, the U.S. significantly escalated its support for drug war aid at the start of President Joe Biden‘s term. 

The news of the report comes at a time when Biden, never an A+ cannabis advocate, is president as the federal government is finally seriously considering rescheduling cannabis. 

However, to meet the public where they’re at in a classic political play amid the ongoing federal cannabis scheduling review, the White House has reiterated that President Joe Biden has been unequivocal in his support for legalizing cannabis for medical use. They emphasized, “President Joe Biden has been ‘very clear’ that he’s ‘always supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.’”

In August, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the potential implications of reclassifying cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). She responded, “I don’t want to get ahead of the process. I was asked this question before. So just so that everybody is clear: The president asked the secretary of HHS and also the attorney general to initiate the administrative process to review how marijuana is scheduled, as you just kind of laid out.”

While the United States is the world’s primary contributor to the drug war, HRI’s report highlights how these figures fluctuate, which is vital to remember. For instance, in 2021, the U.S. allocated $301 million in aid for “narcotics control,” a significant increase from the prior year’s $31 million. (However, this figure represents a fraction of what the U.S. invests in the global drug war through other initiatives). 

According to the report, Colombia emerged as the largest recipient of this aid. 

The one thing the report does not reveal is the specifics, apparently to safeguard the “health and security of implementing partners, and the national interest of the United States.”

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