SAM Will Make The Case That Marijuana Must Remain in Schedule I
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is currently overseeing the Biden Administration’s proposal to reschedule of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, announced there will be an administrative hearing on December 2, 2024, on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that was published earlier this year. In response to the Administration’s announced hearing, SAM President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton, released the following statement:
“The announcement that DEA will hold an administrative hearing on the rescheduling of marijuana is a huge win in our fight to have this decision guided by medical science, not politics. We will seek to use this hearing to spell out in detail how marijuana continues to fail to meet the criteria to be rescheduled. SAM, along with 18 State Attorneys General and numerous other organizations, will demonstrate that marijuana continues to fail to meet the standards to be moved to Schedule III and that this proposed rules change is misguided and dangerous.
“As we have said throughout this process, it should not be lost on anyone that a drug can only be removed from Schedule I if it has accepted medical use—raw, crude marijuana has never passed safety and efficacy protocols. Medical and scientific studies, as well as government data, continue to conclusively linked THC drugs with addiction, psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, suicidality, stroke, and IQ loss, among other impacts – all issues that should keep marijuana as a Schedule I substance.”
SAM is represented by Torridon Law PLLC, the law firm founded by former Attorney General William P. Barr. A full copy of SAM’s public comment can be found HERE.