The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has confirmed that it is conducting a review into the reclassification of cannabis, but has asserted its ‘final authority’ over the decision.
In a letter sent to congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Earl Blumenauer, seen by Punchbowl News, the DEA said it was ‘now conducting its review’ into the potential rescheduling of cannabis.
The latest development is part of a scheduling review process launched by President Biden in October 2022, which saw the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommend that the DEA change cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance, potentially giving the US industry a significant federal boost.
DEA tells House lawmakers that the agency is “now conducting its review” of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug.
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Following the recommendation, the DEA is understood to have launched its review, but has insisted that it retains the “final authority to schedule, reschedule, or deschedule a drug under the Controlled Substances Act, after considering the relevant statutory and regulatory criteria and HHS’s scientific and medical evaluation”.
While previous precedent suggests the DEA will follow the HHS’s advice, the letter, sent last month, has been seen as a power play among lawmakers, emphasised by the DEA’s refusal to provide any sort of timeline or insight into its position in the letter.
Regardless of the political tug-of-war, news that a review is underway saw stock in a number of multi-state operators shoot up, including Cresco Labs, Curaleaf and Trulieve.
