More legislative leaders are pressuring the White House to come clean on cannabis scheduling
President Joe Biden and his administration’s review of marijuana scheduling appears to be an issue that has not been forgotten by a large number of lawmakers. More than a dozen concerned bipartisan members of Congress have come together to send a letter to senior White House officials, asking for visibility and transparency on the ongoing cannabis scheduling review that the president ordered a few months ago.
Representative Earl Blumenauer has always been one of the staunch supporters of cannabis legalization. That is why he has now not hesitated to circulate a draft of the letter among his colleagues. His goal is to find colleagues willing to sign the petition before the final version is sent to US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra.
According to the letter, Biden’s scheduling directive represents “an opportunity to make an honest assessment of the origins and implications of federal policy. It also adds that cannabis was scheduled based on stigma, not science. Thus, Blumenauer believes it is time to address the current reality of marijuana as a state-regulated substance.
Colleagues who have joined the Congressman’s efforts added that administrative rescheduling “would not negate Congress’ obligation to act on comprehensive federal cannabis reform.” The letter, which also includes Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf as CC, has 16 signatories. It is certainly a wake-up call for Garland and Becerra to take action as soon as possible.