Thursday, July 27, 2023

DEA chief grilled on Biden’s plans to deschedule marijuana



 The Hill

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) demanded further information from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) about its plan to remove marijuana from the list of schedule one drugs during a House Judiciary hearing Thursday.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram testified before the Crime and Federal Government subcommittee during which she informed committee members that her and the agency “have not been given a specific timeline” to review and reevaluate marijuana’s classification.

President Biden put out a marijuana reform statement in October 2022 that called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Attorney General to re-evaluate the federal law’s scheduling of marijuana.

The DEA must receive HHS’ review and recommendation to conduct its own evaluation process before coming to a scheduling decision, according to Milgram.

To Gaetz’s dismay, the DEA has yet to receive any such materials from HHS.

“That’s unsettling, isn’t it? When you don’t even know a timeline, it doesn’t really make it seem like something’s front of mind,” Gaetz said to Milgram after she disclosed the status of this procedure.

Cohen supported Gaetz’s stance on the matter, forming a rare bipartisan agreement in the House.

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