Here’s what you can do to effect real change.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently released a report on May 9 with details about its 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), which is dedicated to compiling data in relation to illegal drugs and trafficking trends within the U.S.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram introduced the report to warn of the many threats to public safety as well as national security. “The shift from plant-based drugs, like heroin and cocaine, to synthetic, chemical-based drugs, like fentanyl and methamphetamine, has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced,” Milgram said. “At the heart of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates, who DEA is tracking world-wide. The suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and money launderers all play a role in the web of deliberate and calculated treachery orchestrated by these cartels. DEA will continue to use all available resources to target these networks and save American lives.”

Individual chapters include the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels and their reach within the U.S., and individual substances such as fentanyl, nitazenes, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, “marijuana,” controlled prescription drugs, new psychoactive substances, illicit finance, and DEA response.

The chapter on cannabis explained that legalization on a state level illegal cannabis continues to thrive. “Despite these measures, the black market for marijuana continues, with substantial trafficking by Mexican cartels, and Chinese and other Asian organized crime groups profiting from illegal cultivation and sales, as well as exploitation of the ‘legal’ market,” the DEA wrote. “The price of marijuana in illegal U.S. markets has remained largely stable for years, even as the potency of marijuana has increased exponentially.”

The administration noted the increase in “average Delta-9 THC Potency in Marijuana” between 1977-2022, as according to information provided by the University of Mississippi Marijuana Potency Monitoring Program. In 1977, the percentage of potency was recorded at approximately 1%, followed by approximately 3% in 1982, 1987, and 1992. This rose to 4% in 1997, 6% in 2002, 8% in 2007, 12% in 2012, 15% in 2017, and finally 16% in 2022. “The potency of THC in leafy marijuana is at an all-time high, increasing the potential risk of negative effects on users of any form of the drug, and on children who may consume edibles made with these substances,” the DEA stated.

The rest of the DEA report focuses on Asian organized crime and illegal cultivation. “Many of these home-grows pretend to operate under business registrations granted by state licensing authorities in jurisdictions where marijuana cultivation and sales are ‘legal’ at the state level but, absent overt evidence such as the trafficking of marijuana across state lines or the commission of non-drug crimes such as money laundering and human trafficking, it can be difficult for law enforcement to immediately identify violations or discover an illegal grow,” the DEA explained. The administration’s Dallas Division seized $2.8 million in cannabis linked to four Chinese nationals growing illegally in Oklahoma. Two of those nationals were convicted of drug trafficking in January 2024.

The report also described the rise in emergency room visits by children, as well as the environmental damage caused by illegal cultivation.

The University of Mississippi’s potency percentages pale in comparison to the potency percentages of current cannabis strains. In March, a study analyzed Colorado cannabis samples to determine if the THC percentages were accurate, and found that more than 70% of products were at least 15% higher than reported. Many THC potency reports showed a range between 12.8%-19.3%, as well as a higher range of 28.07%-31.28%. “THC levels averaged 9.75% back in 2009, based on testing of DEA-seized cannabis flower,” wrote report author Anna Schwabe, a professor at University of Colorado, Boulder. “Today, levels reportedly surpass 35%, though they’re not as common as consumers have been led to believe. DEA-seized cannabis flower averaged 13.88% in 2019, which is closer to my observed mean of 14.98% than the reported mean of my samples, which was 20.27%-24.10%.”

According to Headset data obtained by SFGATE, the median THC potency for cannabis has decreased over the past six months in California, with a 7% decrease in the past three months. In December, the average potency levels were recorded at 30.7%, but dropped to 28.5% in March. The potency shifted due to new regulations on cannabinoid testing, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. According to Zach Eisenberg, Anresco Laboratories vice president, the potency decrease was an expected result. “We certainly heard from customers and potential customers that they’re seeing potency values dropping at other laboratories,” Eisenberg said to SFGATE. “Some labs were even proactively saying, ‘Be prepared for our results to be lower after this change.’”

In reality, the more recent reports are just reflecting current potency percentages. “I highly doubt anything has changed in terms of the actual composition of the cannabis products,” Eisenberg told SFGATE. High Times received a statement from Vicente LLP attorney Andrea Golan, based in Los Angeles, about the recent change. “For years, the efficacy of cannabis lab test results has been widely discussed across the California cannabis industry due to inflated potency test results and inconsistencies in results due to labs using different methodologies for testing cannabis,” Golan said. “The change in law ends the practice of shopping for labs with less strict testing methods in order to inflate THC content. Therefore, rather than cannabis getting weaker, recent changes may now provide a more accurate reflection of true potency.”

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President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. Department of Justice will officially reschedule cannabis, moving it from Schedule I, reserved for dangerous drugs with no medical value, to Schedule III. The news follows the historic announcement on April 30, that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will move to reclassify cannabis under Schedule III, the Associated Press reported.

Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, both recorded videos of the announcement and posted them on social media.

“This is monumental,” Biden said in a video that was posted on X. “Today my administration took a major step to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. It’s an important move towards reversing longstanding inequities.”  

“Today’s announcement builds on the work we’ve already done to pardon a record number of federal offenses for simple possession of marijuana. And it adds to the action we’ve taken to lift barriers to housing, employment, small business loans, and so much more for tens of thousands of Americans.”

Biden continued, “No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.”

“Today’s announcement builds on the work we’ve already done to pardon a record number of federal offenses for simple possession of marijuana. I’m committed to writing those historic wrongs,” he said. “You have my word.

“Currently marijuana is classified on the same level as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl,” Harris said in another video. “We are finally changing that. But I want to thank all of the advocates and everyone out there for helping to make this possible and we are on the road to getting it done.” 

“This recommendation validates the experiences of tens of millions of Americans, as well as tens of thousands of physicians, who have long recognized that cannabis possesses legitimate medical utility,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “But it still falls well short of the changes necessary to bring federal marijuana policy into the 21st century. Specifically, the proposed change fails to harmonize federal marijuana policy with the cannabis laws of most U.S. states, particularly the 24 states that have legalized its use and sale to adults.”

“Nevertheless, as a first step forward, this policy change dramatically shifts the political debate surrounding cannabis,” Armentano added. “Specifically, it delegitimizes many of the tropes historically exploited by opponents of marijuana policy reform. Claims that cannabis poses unique harms to health, or that it’s not useful for treating chronic pain and other ailments, have now been rejected by the very federal agencies that formerly perpetuated them. Going forward, these specious allegations should be absent from any serious conversations surrounding cannabis and how to best regulate its use.”

A 60-day comment period will soon begin to allow input on the pros and cons of Schedule III.

Questions and Shortcomings of Schedule III

Industry leaders pointed out that reclassifying cannabis under Schedule III won’t absolve the discord between federal law and dozens of medical adult-use cannabis laws at the state level. For some, the reclassification announcement leads to more questions.

“While there’s still work to be done, I’m optimistic about what this means in terms of a domino that needed to fall in order for the wave to come that we’ve all been waiting for and working towards for so long,” said Caleb Counts, CEO & Co-Founder, Connected Cannabis. “Rescheduling is a step in the right direction without question, and while it isn’t at the stage of descheduling, it’s still impactful for so many people and that doesn’t go unnoticed. Loosening taxes and regulations where customers benefit is always a win in my book.”

“While a great step for the industry, the truth is, most of our operational challenges remain,” said Roger Volodarsky, Founder and CEO, Puffco. “A lot of people think that moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III will drive additional research in the space, but the reality is that it’s more complicated than that. In late 2022, the Medical Marijuana Expansion Research Act was passed, which essentially says that regardless of the scheduling of cannabis, the DEA still holds the final ruling of who’s allowed to research the plant, and where those research materials are coming from. So while a move to Schedule III is a huge step forward in terms of protecting our freedoms in this industry, we are still at the mercy of policy-makers. Ultimately, the goal is a complete descheduling of the plant and until that happens our fight is not over.”

“For me, it raises more questions than solving any problems that we have,” said Christopher Louie, Co-Founder & CEO of Made in Xiaolin, a legacy cannabis operator in Colorado and soo in New York. “What does this mean from here? Great, marijuana now has medical benefits in the eyes of the government. Does this mean that in order to obtain it you need a prescription and in order to distribute or manufacture it I would need a medical license? It seems this could help out pharmaceutical companies and big businesses affiliated in the medical field, but I’m not sure how this benefits companies like ours.”

Others commended the small step towards legalization that signals a shift in the way cannabis is viewed in the eyes of the federal government.

“We commend the POTUS’s efforts to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III. While the fight isn’t over to legalize cannabis nationally, this is a much-needed wind in our sails that we haven’t felt in over 50 years at the federal level,” said Vince Ning, co-founder and CEO of Nabis, a leading wholesale marketplace. “As far as public commentary goes, we will certainly be providing our thoughts on how to improve this change to push for the full legalization of this controlled substance, and how to provide safe access of quality tested cannabis products to the patients in need through existing regulatory frameworks that currently exist today.”

“President Biden characterized rescheduling as a means of reversing longstanding inequities,” said Brian Vicente, founder of Vicente LLP. “One dominating inequity cannabis businesses face is the inability to deduct regular business expenses, since they sell a Schedule 1 substance.  We work with hundreds of licensed cannabis businesses, and the ability to deduct ordinary operating costs under the Schedule 3 proposal would be a game-changer for them. This proposal will release cannabis businesses from the crippling tax burden they are currently shackled with and allow these businesses to grow and prosper.”

“On behalf of thousands of legal businesses operating across the country, we commend President Biden for taking this important first step toward a more rational marijuana policy. Now it’s time for Congress to enact legislation that would protect our industry, uphold public safety, and advance the will of the voters who overwhelmingly support making cannabis legal for adults,” said Aaron Smith, NCIA CEO & co-founder. “Rescheduling alone does not fix our nation’s state and federal cannabis policy conflict. Only Congress can enact the legislation needed to fully respect the states and advance the will of the vast majority of voters who support legal cannabis.”

There will then be a 60-day public comment period before the rule is potentially finalized.

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Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) shared that marijuana would be rescheduled from a Schedule I, meaning that the plant was classified as a substance with no accepted medical value, such as heroin, to a Schedule III, controlled substances that allow for some medical use, such as ketamine. While cannabis advocates, stoners, and anyone with the ability to reason welcomed this news (although it fell short of actually declassifying or legalizing it), just a day following the DEA announcement, a prominent group opposed to cannabis legalization already sent out an email to its supporters soliciting funds to combat the policy change.

“SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action,” the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana shared in the email sent out on Wednesday, which asked, of course, for money. 

The email came with a link to what SAM crowned a “Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund,” which seeks either one-time (or you can make that recurring, of course), monthly donations ranging from $250 to $5,000. Think of all the weed you could buy with that money! Loaded anti-cannabis haters also have the option to donate much, much more. 

If you’ve heard of SAM before, it’s because they are very vocal about what they perceive as the dangers of marijuana. The landing page on their website shares that they’re apparently trying to prevent the “next Big Tobacco,” which is just plain silly. As High Times reported, a recent study actually found that tobacco consumption has decreased in states with recreational cannabis legalization. SAM’s “About” section claims to be bipartisan and then links out to The Drudge Report. 

“Our new Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund will be used to support our challenges of marijuana laws and regulations, specifically marijuana’s Schedule III recommendation,” reads the donation page.

“Let’s be clear: this does not mean marijuana is legalized—it will remain federally illegal,” the email reads (yes, unfortunately, they are right about this). “But, if implemented, moving marijuana to Schedule III would give Big Marijuana billions in tax write-offs as well as continue the normalization of high-potency THC drugs. SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action.”

They are absolutely right about the tax write-off; it’s one of the biggest wins regarding the descheduling announcement. As business is set up now, it’s incredibly hard for cannabis companies to turn a profit. The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) anticipates that reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III will alleviate some of the harsh effects of tax code 280E on thousands of state-legal cannabis enterprises. The Legal Intelligencer notes that this change would eliminate the current restrictions on tax deductions that 280E imposes. 

As for the high THC concern, consuming too much THC can be very uncomfortable, and there are high THC products available for those with high tolerances, but this argument is so tiring. Of course, there’s the obvious comparison to liquor, which leads to blackouts and even death in a way that a big edible just doesn’t. But perhaps more importantly, it’s just so easy to use THC responsibly. One of the benefits of legalization is that products can be clearly labeled so one can purchase the acceptable dose for their tolerance and body weight. There may be 100mg gummies available now, but there are also 2.5mg usually on the same shelf. We know from the failed war on drugs that prohibition doesn’t make things better; in fact, we now know that adult-use cannabis laws and sales were not associated with an overall increase in teen substance abuse. Rather, the researchers found modest drops in alcohol and e-cigarette use occurred. One must use cannabis responsibly, especially when it comes to edibles, but we have to leave that up to individuals and assume that grown-ups can take care of themselves. 

SAM’s president, Kevin Sabet, accused the Biden administration of “starting with the decision and working backward to find the supporting materials,” but, in reality, the original decision to classify cannabis as a Schedule I was, as noted by Rep. Earl Blumenauer said in an emailed statement obtained by High Times in our reporting on the descheduling decision, based on stigma rather than science. And, based on the knee-jerk reaction of SAM, a day after the descheduling announcement, we can assume that the modest move to move marijuana to Schedule III will not end this toxic stigma and that the War on Drugs is far from over. 

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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 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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An Arizona church has reached a settlement in a lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies that allows the Indigenous religious organization to use the psychedelic brew ayahuasca for sacramental purposes. Under the agreement, the Church of the Eagle and the Condor (CEC) will be permitted to import, prepare and distribute ayahuasca to its members at religious ceremonies.

“The Church of the Eagle and the Condor has reached a settlement to secure its religious freedom and the right to use Ayahuasca as its sacrament,” the church wrote in an announcement of the settlement. “This is the first Indigenous-based church to receive recognition and protection.”

In 2022, the CEC filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection and the DEA after DHS officials seized shipments of ayahuasca intended for sacramental use by church members. The lawsuit also cited government threats that the church and its members could face prosecution under federal drug charges if they continued to import ayahuasca, which contains the psychedelic drug and Schedule I controlled substance DMT (N, N-Dimethyltryptamine).

The settlement allows the CEC and its members to obtain and use ayahuasca in paste or liquid form under an exemption to the Controlled Substances Act. The concentrate will then be diluted with water into a ceremonial tea by church members for religious ceremonial purposes held in Phoenix. The settlement permits the DEA to take samples of imported shipments to confirm they contain ayahuasca and no controlled substances other than DMT. 

“This Agreement permits CEC to import, receive, manufacture, distribute, transport, securely store, and dispose of ayahuasca solely for CEC’s religious purposes,” the settlement reads. “CEC may not conduct any of these activities for non-religious purposes, including but not limited to recreational purposes. CEC may not use any DEA registrations subject to this Agreement to import, receive, manufacture, distribute, store, or use any other controlled substance.”

Ayahuasca is used in South America by Indigenous cultures and folk healers in spiritual and religious ceremonies. In recent years, the psychoactive brew has gained popularity with American celebrities including Aaron Rodgers, Will Smith, Miley Cyrus and others, who have used ayahuasca to take advantage of its purported mental health benefits.

CEC Ayahuasquero (sacramental practitioner) Joseph Tafur, M.D. said in a statement that the ceremonial use of ayahuasca “is an essential sacrament for our church.”

“Our ceremony is rooted in the Shipibo Amazonian tradition which has been passed down by countless generations,” he said. “Now, in fulfillment of the ancient Prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor, this tradition has come to North America.” 

“I am honored to be an Ayahuasquero with the CEC, and bring to our ceremony the care, respect, and reverence that it deserves,” Tafur continued, adding, “Our ancestral practice will continue to support the community and nourish our holistic well-being.” 

Belinda P. Eriacho, a CEC board member of Diné and A:shwii lineages, said that the settlement with the DEA “reaffirms our right to practice our spirituality as we have always known. It is a recognition by the U.S. government and an important milestone in honoring and validating indigenous belief systems. Prior to contact, indigenous peoples have used sacred plant medicines for healing and ceremony since time immemorial.”

“Our relationship with our plant relatives has always been an extension of our worldview. This has been interrupted by the imposition of governmental policies that have suppressed our way of life and demonstrated religious intolerance,” Eriacho continued. “This settlement is a significant step and acknowledgment of our spiritual beliefs as original peoples of the Americas.” 

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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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The DEA issued a letter Monday directed at online retailers selling pill presses, informing them that they are required to report sales of these presses to the DEA.

According to the DEA, pill presses are commonly used to disguise the deadly opioid fentanyl by replicating existing prescription medications. These replicated pills are then sold to people who are typically unaware they’re buying fentanyl. These pill presses are incredibly easy to find online and sell for as little as 40 dollars. This, in part, has fueled a scourge of overdoses in the last several years, 110,757 in 2022 alone by the DEA’s count.

“With these tools, criminal actors are able to produce pills that look like legitimate prescription medication—like oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall—but are not,” the DEA said. “Those pills actually contain fentanyl and other deadly drugs.  Criminals then sell those pills on social media and in our communities, often to people who do not know that the pills are not real or that they contain deadly drugs.”

The DEA implicitly stated that pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act, e-commerce retailers responsible for selling these pill presses are required to keep records of everybody who buys and sells a press, and also required to report this information to the DEA.

“DEA has found that pill presses and stamps that can be used to make fentanyl pills are being offered for sale on various e-commerce platforms.  E-commerce entities selling pill press machines are generally ‘regulated persons’ under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 802(38), and therefore, subject to the recordkeeping, identification, and reporting requirements of 21 U.S.C. § 830,” the DEA said. “As regulated entities, e-commerce platforms are required to comply with CSA recordkeeping and reporting requirements on the distribution, importation, and exportation of pill press machines.  This means that they must collect information on the buyer and seller and provide notice to the DEA of any sale, import, export, or transfer.”

The DEA said that the vast majority of these fake pills are produced by two particular Mexican cartels. The United States government has put increasing pressure on Mexico in recent years to curb the flow of fentanyl, including fentanyl disguised in these fake pills, from crossing over the United States Mexico border. Even after signs were posted all over Sinaloa appearing to ban the production and sale of fentanyl by the authority of the cartels, fentanyl overdoses and seizures have not slowed down at all.

“The drug cartels primarily responsible for manufacturing fentanyl and smuggling it into the United States are the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel.  These cartels, their members and associates, and other drug traffickers are using pill presses to shape fentanyl powder into pills, and they are using stamps to imprint markings and logos onto those pills as they are pressed,” the DEA said.

According to the DEA, over 79 million fake fentanyl-containing pills were seized in 2023, which marked a 33% increase over pill seizures in 2022. DEA lab tests have shown that 70% of seized pills are pressed and contain fentanyl. Seventy percent of all drug overdoses in 2022 were also due to ingestion of fentanyl.

“Drug traffickers are killing Americans by selling fentanyl hidden in fake pills made to look like real prescription medicines. This is possible because drug traffickers are able to buy the tools they need, like pill presses and stamps, online,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “E-commerce platforms cannot turn a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis and to the sale of pill presses on their platforms.  They must do their part to protect the public, and when they do not, DEA will hold them accountable.”

The DEA said that they launched the Industry Liaison Project in 2019, in which they communicated with over two dozen of the largest online retailers about pill press sales on their websites. They said that several, including Amazon and Etsy, banned the sale of pill presses on their platforms outright. However, as the hyperlink I included at the top of this article proves, dozens and dozens of pill presses are very much still for sale on Amazon. I also found several pill presses for sale on Etsy with about five seconds of effort on Google.

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The DEA has rescinded a 2023 directive which previously ordered a pharmaceutical company to shutter operations after they were found to have helped perpetuate the nationwide opioid crisis.

Morris & Dickson, a multi-billion dollar Big Pharma giant which has been in business since 1841 will be permitted to continue selling drugs to Americans as per the result of a settlement reached with the DEA on Wednesday. This comes just under a year after the pharmaceutical wholesaler had their license revoked for continuing to produce and distribute suspicious shipments of controlled substances for years after a judge recommended their license be revoked for “cavalier disregard” of controlled substance laws. They also failed to report thousands of shipments of hydrocodone and oxycodone to the DEA. 

“Of all the cases I handled as an administrative law judge for the DEA, Morris & Dickson’s violations were the most blatant and egregious,” Judge Charles Dorman told the Associated Press. “In addition, I saw no real acceptance of responsibility for their violations.”

According to the DEA, Morris & Dickson will pay a $19 million fine and submit to heightened reporting requirements for five years as well as forfeit one of their two DEA Certificates of Registration, but they will be permitted to continue producing controlled substances from schedule two to five of the Controlled Substances Act. They also admitted all wrongdoing for their past actions.

“Drug distributors like Morris & Dickson have a responsibility to protect the safety and health of customers and maintain effective controls against diversion of highly addictive controlled substances. At the height of the opioid crisis, Morris & Dickson failed to uphold that responsibility, and turned a blind eye as thousands of unusually large orders for hydrocodone and oxycodone went out the door,” said DEA spokesperson Katherine Pfaff. “Today, Morris & Dickson takes an important first step by admitting wrongdoing and paying for its misconduct, and today’s settlement will ensure that such irresponsible practices will not continue in the future.”

Morris and Dickson’s legal wrongdoing came to light as the result of an Associated Press investigation in 2023 which not only found that the nation’s fourth largest drug distributor was playing it fast and loose with dangerous opioids, but also that the four-year delay in DEA action may have been the result of the so-to-speak “revolving door” between public entities and private companies which can lead to biased decision making at the government level.

In the case of Morris and Dickson one such DEA employee, Louis Milione, spent 21 years working with the DEA in the Office of Diversion Control before retiring in 2017. After that, the Associated Press found that Milione became a consultant for the companies he was previously a regulator of, including Morris and Dickson, who hired him on a $3 million contract to essentially save their ability to produce and supply painkillers after the DEA accused the company of turning a blind eye to large suspicious orders of opioids. 

Milione advocated for Morris & Dickson in court to little or no avail as the judge presiding over the case wrote a long scathing 159-page report recommending Morris and Dickson have their license revoked. According to the Associated Press, it was not until four years later when the AP asked the DEA to comment on their investigation into Morris and Dickson that the DEA finally followed through on what the judge recommended and revoked their license, only to reinstate it with this recent order less than a year later.

“If the DEA had issued its order in a timely manner, one could then credibly believe that its second-in-command was not involved despite an obvious conflict of interest,” said Craig Holman, an ethics expert at the watchdog group Public Citizen in Washington to the Associated Press in 2023. “The mere fact that its action has been delayed four years just raises red flags. It casts the entire process under grave suspicion.”

Morris & Dickson released a brief statement on their website regarding the DEA’s decision to reverse the original license revocation, choosing to give a very general thank you to the DEA rather than going into specifics about the case.

“Morris & Dickson wants to thank the DEA for their recognition of our extensive efforts over the past five years to expand and improve our compliance system for suspicious order monitoring. We appreciate the DEA’s collaboration with us on our shared commitment to patient safety, and we are pleased that the DEA’s actions acknowledge both our current state-of-the-art compliance program and our commitment to continued enhancements into the future,” Morris & Dickson said.

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