HHS - DEA Vs. HHS Over Marijuana Rescheduling: Former Gov Officials Say It Would 'Supersize' The Industry | Benzinga
Former DEA chiefs and retired White House drug czars are expressing concerns over the possible rescheduling of cannabis. In a letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA administrator Anne Milgram, the 11 ex-officials argued that reclassifying marijuana would "supersize” the industry through tax relief and normalization, reported Marijuana Moment.
The news comes some six weeks after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed his agency had responded to President Biden's directive to provide cannabis scheduling recommendations to the DEA. Becerra wrote to Milgram calling for marijuana to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
Now, former DEA administrators and directors of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy are basically recommending the DEA disregard the HHS's recommendation.
"Schedule I drugs are those with no accepted medical use. The FDA has not approved marijuana for medical use because no double-blind, published studies show safety and efficacy for raw marijuana; thus, it must remain a Schedule I drug,” wrote six former DEA heads and five White House drug czars.
It is important to note that even though the FDA has not approved marijuana for medical use as yet, it did approve one CBD-based medication called Epidiolex, which is helping control seizures for numerous children suffering from rare forms of epilepsy. What’s more, ...