Cannabis rescheduling was thrown back into the spotlight last week as the new potential head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it would be a ‘priority’.
As previously reported, the ambitious rescheduling process, which would move cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, is currently on ice pending the conclusion of an interlocutory appeal into the DEA’s neutrality, and the ball remains in the DEA’s court for now.
Just last month, the DEA reported that no progress in the rescheduling case had been made since its suspension, and that a formal date for a hearing to decide whether to remove the DEA from the process altogether had also not yet been set.
However, things have been moving at breakneck speed in Washington, and the DEA is now not only serving under a new administration but will soon have a new leader.
Terrance Cole, President Trump’s latest nominee for DEA Administrator, attended his confirmation hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, where he was grilled on his plans for the future of this project.
He informed lawmakers that reviewing the stalled process would be ‘one of my first priorities’ if confirmed. However, the long-serving law enforcement official stopped short of endorsing the proposed reclassification itself, citing a need to study the issue further.
Cole acknowledged delays in the DEA’s ongoing review of cannabis’s status under federal law, stating that he was ‘not familiar exactly where we are, but I know the process has been delayed numerous times, and it’s time to move forward.’
When pressed by Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, as to whether he would commit to seeing the process through, he declined to offer a concrete position, stating only that he ‘need(s) to understand more where the agencies are, and look at the science behind it,” he said, adding that he wanted to ‘listen to the experts’ before making a determination.
While seemingly ambivalent to the issue, should Cole stick to his word and go by the scientific evidence presented by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in its original recommendation, then rescheduling stands a fighting chance of happening.
Speaking to The Dale’s Report’s Trade to Black podcast last week, Shane Pennington, who represents the parties who called for the interlocutory appeal, said he believes this is a significant step forward.
“Tell me the last time the head of the DEA said, ‘one of my priorities is going to be reviewing cannabis rescheduling,’ in any previous administration. It’s never happened before, so that’s a good measuring stick for where we are today versus, say, four years ago.
“I’ve said it a couple of times that once the administration turns its attention to this, it can happen very quickly, if that’s their will and they want to do it, it’ll get done… What’s changed is that they have turned their attention to it.”
Despite Cole’s lack of commitment and historic disregard for cannabis, this sentiment was also shared by the US Cannabis Roundtable.
“We’re encouraged by President Trump’s nomination of Terry Cole to lead the DEA and his acknowledgement that cannabis rescheduling is something the administration will be looking at.
“We see this as a clear signal that the president is open to practical reforms that resonate with a broad swath of the American public. His campaign remarks on the issue last fall struck a chord with millions, and this latest development suggests a willingness to follow through.”
Pennington also suggested that, given the recorded history of the process so far, including the HHS recommendation, an LLC opinion, and a hearing which uncovered the apparent bias of the former DEA administrator Anne Milgramme, ‘it should be pretty easy for them to wrap this one up one way or another’.
“With what’s on the record and the science that’s out there, once we move, we’ll be moving in a positive direction.
“Now we have a new DEA administrator coming in under a new administration. There’s enough evidence for the leading scientific body in the world to have thoroughly reviewed it and come to a clear conclusion.
“So the real question is: are we going to have an administration that has the will to get this done, and are we going to have a fair and transparent process? If those two things are in place, there’s no way this gets sidetracked at this point.”
The post Cannabis Rescheduling Given Fresh Hope as DEA Nominee Pledges to ‘Look at Science and Listen to Experts’ appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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As previously reported, the ambitious rescheduling process, which would move cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, is currently on ice pending the conclusion of an interlocutory appeal into the DEA’s neutrality, and the ball remains in the DEA’s court for now.
Just last month, the DEA reported that no progress in the rescheduling case had been made since its suspension, and that a formal date for a hearing to decide whether to remove the DEA from the process altogether had also not yet been set.
However, things have been moving at breakneck speed in Washington, and the DEA is now not only serving under a new administration but will soon have a new leader.
Terrance Cole, President Trump’s latest nominee for DEA Administrator, attended his confirmation hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, where he was grilled on his plans for the future of this project.
He informed lawmakers that reviewing the stalled process would be ‘one of my first priorities’ if confirmed. However, the long-serving law enforcement official stopped short of endorsing the proposed reclassification itself, citing a need to study the issue further.
Cole acknowledged delays in the DEA’s ongoing review of cannabis’s status under federal law, stating that he was ‘not familiar exactly where we are, but I know the process has been delayed numerous times, and it’s time to move forward.’
When pressed by Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, as to whether he would commit to seeing the process through, he declined to offer a concrete position, stating only that he ‘need(s) to understand more where the agencies are, and look at the science behind it,” he said, adding that he wanted to ‘listen to the experts’ before making a determination.
While seemingly ambivalent to the issue, should Cole stick to his word and go by the scientific evidence presented by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in its original recommendation, then rescheduling stands a fighting chance of happening.
Speaking to The Dale’s Report’s Trade to Black podcast last week, Shane Pennington, who represents the parties who called for the interlocutory appeal, said he believes this is a significant step forward.
“Tell me the last time the head of the DEA said, ‘one of my priorities is going to be reviewing cannabis rescheduling,’ in any previous administration. It’s never happened before, so that’s a good measuring stick for where we are today versus, say, four years ago.
“I’ve said it a couple of times that once the administration turns its attention to this, it can happen very quickly, if that’s their will and they want to do it, it’ll get done… What’s changed is that they have turned their attention to it.”
Despite Cole’s lack of commitment and historic disregard for cannabis, this sentiment was also shared by the US Cannabis Roundtable.
“We’re encouraged by President Trump’s nomination of Terry Cole to lead the DEA and his acknowledgement that cannabis rescheduling is something the administration will be looking at.
“We see this as a clear signal that the president is open to practical reforms that resonate with a broad swath of the American public. His campaign remarks on the issue last fall struck a chord with millions, and this latest development suggests a willingness to follow through.”
Pennington also suggested that, given the recorded history of the process so far, including the HHS recommendation, an LLC opinion, and a hearing which uncovered the apparent bias of the former DEA administrator Anne Milgramme, ‘it should be pretty easy for them to wrap this one up one way or another’.
“With what’s on the record and the science that’s out there, once we move, we’ll be moving in a positive direction.
“Now we have a new DEA administrator coming in under a new administration. There’s enough evidence for the leading scientific body in the world to have thoroughly reviewed it and come to a clear conclusion.
“So the real question is: are we going to have an administration that has the will to get this done, and are we going to have a fair and transparent process? If those two things are in place, there’s no way this gets sidetracked at this point.”
The post Cannabis Rescheduling Given Fresh Hope as DEA Nominee Pledges to ‘Look at Science and Listen to Experts’ appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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