Bjones2
20 minutes ago
DEA Officials Discuss Marijuana Scheduling Timeline, Seeking To ‘Correct Misperceptions’ That Decisions Are Made In A ‘Shroud Of Secrecy’
Published on March 28, 2024
By Kyle Jaeger
A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official says the agency wants to “correct misperceptions” that its drug scheduling review process is done in a “shroud of secrecy” as it works to reach a final decision on possibly reclassifying marijuana. He also said it sometimes takes up to six months for DEA to complete its analysis of health officials’ recommendations—which is just about how long it has now been since the agency began its current cannabis assessment.
In the latest episode of the agency’s “Prevention Profiles: Take Five” series, DEA Senior Prevention Program Manager Rich Lucey spoke with DEA pharmacologist Buki Ebeigbe about the scheduling process and specifically how it relates to the ongoing cannabis review—marking the first time that officials with the agency have discussed its current analysis of marijuana’s Schedule I status publicly in any depth.
“I just think it’s important for people to—again, going back to correcting misperceptions and really the issue of transparency and, by us even doing this podcast, just to help people understand the process,” Lucey said. “We don’t want it to necessarily feel as if it’s behind this shroud of secrecy, which I think then lends itself to this idea that it’s a whole arbitrary process.”
Transparency has been a key concern for advocates and lawmakers, with DEA declining to say anything publicly beyond confirming that they’ve received the recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and are now carrying out their own review.
That process is “independent” of the HHS review, Lucey stressed.
That’s right,” Ebeigbe said. “It’s in its process. We’ve received [the HHS analysis], and we’re in the process of writing that recommendation” on cannabis scheduling to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
“Once that information is compiled and that document is written—that eight-factor document is written—it’s reviewed through our internal process,” she said, referring to the multi-step analysis the agency is completing on the effects of cannabis. “Ultimately, the administrator will make a decision on where to place it—whether to change it or whether to remove it or whatever.”
Lucey also commented on the complexity of drug scheduling reviews and what that means in terms of timing.
“Right now it’s a ‘wait and see.’ HHS has done their part, and now DEA is doing its part, which is that eight-factor analysis. And that can take anywhere from like three to six months sometimes,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like we’re going to be done in a week. It never happens that way.”
While Lucey was speaking generally about the drug scheduling review process, that timeline is notable. HHS delivered its Schedule III recommendation to DEA last August, meaning it’s been more than six months now that the drug agency has been conducting its own review. And there’s significant pressure to complete its work expeditiously.
Bjones2
2 days ago
Why Marijuana Stocks Are Hopping Again on Tuesday
Rich Smith, The Motley Fool
Tue, Mar 26, 2024, 12:04 PM EDT2 min read
In This Article:
SNDL
+13.87%
Marijuana stocks are red hot Tuesday, as investors digest the latest cannabis news. And what news we've got! Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris voiced plans "to legalize marijuana" in the U.S. In just a few days, Germany will do just that, decriminalizing both marijuana possession and home cultivation of cannabis effective April 1.
Investors who pocketed gains yesterday are lining up to buy more on Tuesday. As of 10:40 a.m. ET, shares of marijuana stocks Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON), SNDL (NASDAQ: SNDL), and Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: CGC) are up 4.8%, 8.3%, and 11.8%, respectively.
Voters support cheaper marijuana
There's good reason for optimism. While U.S. federal marijuana legalization may or may not happen, support is building in Congress for legislation making sales at the state level -- where 24 states have fully legalized weed -- more profitable for the companies that sell it.
As cannabis news source Marijuana Moment reports, an American Bankers Association poll finds that 63% of voters polled support Congress passing a Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act to let cannabis companies secure loans and use other banking services. Leading senators such as Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer already support the bill.
Legalizing bank services would lower the cost of doing business for companies that cultivate and sell marijuana, potentially making these businesses more profitable, allowing them to lower prices for consumers -- or both. As such, it's a logical next step for Congress to take, even prior to full-scale legalization.
Tick tock
All that said, Congress has been trying to pass "SAFER" for half a decade now, so far without success. While legalization is probably coming, in whole or in part, it remains to be seen which cannabis companies will survive to see it.
Analysts don't see Canopy Growth turning profitable before 2028 for example, or Cronos turning a profit... ever. SNDL, however, might earn a profit in 2025 -- and has enough cash to last eight more years at its current burn rate. When betting on marijuana legalization, don't forget to keep an eye on a company's cash.
Bjones2
2 days ago
Biden, at risk with young voters, is racing to shift marijuana policy
A Biden campaign aide said marijuana policy is one of a number of issues the campaign believes will motivate young people.
(Jose Luis Magana/AP)
BY NOAH BIERMAN
STAFF WRITER
MARCH 26, 2024 3 AM PT
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris looked up from prepared remarks in the White House’s ornate Roosevelt Room this month to make sure the reporters in the room could hear her clearly: “Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.”
Harris’ “marijuana reform roundtable” was a striking reminder of how the politics have shifted for a onetime prosecutor raised in the “Just Say No” era of zero-tolerance drug enforcement. As President Biden seeks badly needed support from young people, his administration is banking on cannabis policy as a potential draw.
Biden made similar comments to Harris’ in this month’s State of the Union address — though the 81-year-old president used the term “marijuana” instead of “weed.” The administration is highlighting its decision to grant clemency for pot possession as it races to have cannabis reclassified under the Controlled Substances Act before Biden faces voters in November.
“What’s good about this issue is it’s clean and it’s clear and it cuts through,” said Celinda Lake, one of Biden’s 2020 pollsters who also works for the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform, an industry group, along with Democratic organizations supporting Biden’s reelection. “And it’s hard to get voters’ attention in this cynical environment.”
The challenge is significant. Biden is viewed favorably by only 31% of people ages 18 through 29, much worse than he fares with other age groups, according to a recent Economist/YouGov poll. Though he leads former President Trump by 21 percentage points in that age group, he needs a high turnout to repeat his 2020 formula. Biden’s age probably has played a role in alienating a group that is both essential for Democrats and historically harder to galvanize than older voters, who more consistently show up at the polls.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders hailed it Wednesday, Aug. 30, as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)
WORLD & NATION
U.S. regulators might change how they classify marijuana. Here’s what that would mean
VENICE, CA - MARCH 20, 2024 - - Pedestrians walk past the now closed MedMen cannabis store on Abbot Kinney on March 20, 2024. A pair of signs on the front windows says that the store is closing temporarily. In the summer of 2018, cannabis retailer MedMen opened a boutique shop on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice - "the coolest block in America," as the company hyped in a press release at the time. But, in the years that followed, the once rapidly expanding company began to unravel. Their stock plummeted to zero and recently they abruptly closed most of their California locations, including the one on Abbot Kinney, at least temporarily. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
BUSINESS
“In the year 2024, it’s fair to expect more from a Democratic president,” said Matthew Schweich, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, a nonprofit trying to loosen laws at the local, state and federal levels.
Schweich said he worries about Trump returning to office but believes Biden has done the “absolute bare minimum,” missing a political opportunity to push for legalization in Congress and to advocate for the complete removal of marijuana from the controlled substances list, which Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and 11 other Democratic senators urged in a January letter to the DEA.
Trump, whose administration threatened federal enforcement against localities and states that had legalized marijuana, is unlikely to attract support from legalization advocates.
Polling that Lake has done for the industry shows even the incremental step Biden is seeking could boost his approval by as much as 9 percentage points with younger voters in battleground states. But it’s hardly certain how that would play out.
A campaign aide, who would speak only on condition of anonymity, said marijuana policy is one of a number of issues the campaign believes will motivate young people — important but not as prominent as top-tier concerns including college affordability, reproductive rights, the economy, climate and healthcare.
The campaign cautions against treating young people as a monolith, noting that they care about a variety of issues and tend to see connections between them. Democrats, through a variety of methods including social media influencers and a newly launched campus outreach program, are trying to make the broader case to young people that Biden is fighting for equity and change while Trump is looking backward.
They note that young voters proved critical not only in Biden’s 2020 election but also in the 2022 midterm elections, when concerns over democracy and abortion rights helped the party perform better than expected.
Overall support for legalization is now at 70%, the highest recorded by Gallup, which began polling the question in 1969, when just 12% of Americans favored legalizing marijuana. The substance is legal in 24 states and Washington, D.C., for adults, and a total of 38 have made it legal for medical use, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a legalization advocacy group.
The administration has pitched its marijuana agenda as part of its broader efforts to change other criminal sentencing laws and to improve job and business opportunities for people who have spent time in jail or prison.
Lake argues the two efforts combined could help Biden with Black men, another group where he has lost significant support since winning election in 2020.
Padilla said he still gets asked about marijuana regulations regularly, even though California was the first state to pass a medical-use law in 1996. “It resonates with a lot of people,” he said.
In practical terms, reclassifying marijuana changes little. Federal penalties would remain the same, though the Justice Department has for decades treated most marijuana crimes as low-priority prosecutions. It would remain illegal to transport pot across state lines, meaning access to banks and financial markets will remain a hurdle, even for companies operating in states that have legalized pot.
The biggest difference is that scientists and doctors could more easily study the drug for medical uses, something that is now practically banned. Such a change could open the door for greater acceptance. It also would lower tax burdens for the industry in states where it is legal, by allowing deductions for ordinary business expenses that are currently prohibited by the Internal Revenue Service.
Other potential changes are less certain. Banks and credit card issuers, for instance, would not immediately lift restrictions on marijuana transactions, though that could come if regulators in the Treasury Department decide to take up the issue, according to Shane Pennington, an attorney specializing in the Controlled Substances Act who has industry clients.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks during an event announcing the launch of the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the State Department, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
SCIENCE & MEDICINE
Senators hail federal recommendation to ease restrictions on marijuana
Aug. 30, 2023
Biden proposed reviewing marijuana’s status in October 2022, a process that usually takes an average of more than nine years, Pennington said. The Department of Health and Human Services recommended Schedule III in August, the first step toward a change. A DEA spokesperson, in an email, said the agency would not discuss the issue while it is under review.
“It often takes a very long time, but we’re in unprecedented territory here” because the order came directly from the president, Pennington said.
Harris, in her roundtable discussion on marjuana reform, showed her impatience.
“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible, and we need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment,” she said.
The rushed nature of the process could expose the administration’s actions — which are almost certain to draw lawsuits — to further scrutiny.
Kevin A. Sabet, a former marijuana policy advisor in the Obama administration who heads an anti-legalization group, noted that Biden’s Health and Human Services Department released its preliminary recommendation at 4:20 p.m., slang for weed smoking time, underscoring the political nature of a normally button-down regulatory process. He argued that the decision was poorly crafted and could run afoul of U.S. treaty obligations.
But Sabet also agrees with advocates that Biden could have gone further.
“I think what the president wants to do is reap some of the benefits of the guy who’s embracing all this stuff without actually becoming in favor of legalization,” said Sabet, who heads the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
Bjones2
3 days ago
Schumer Circulates Petition For Marijuana Banking Bill As Pressure Builds For Vote
Published on March 22, 2024By Kyle Jaeger
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is asking people to show their support for a marijuana banking bill by signing a petition as he steps up his push for the legislation. In a new email about the effort, he also reiterated his support for comprehensive federal cannabis legalization.
With Congress positioned to pass a final package of appropriations legislation for the current fiscal year, lawmakers have been renewing their call to move the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. And in an email blast on Friday, Schumer again leaned into the issue.
“Can you imagine running a business without being able to deposit your money anywhere?” the email says. “That’s the reality for law-abiding marijuana businesses across the country.”
States That Legalized Marijuana See Massive Reduction in Tobacco Use
“In states where marijuana is legal, these businesses have extremely limited access to basic banking services like deposits or lines of credit. They’re forced to keep massive amounts of cash on hand—a danger for everyone involved,” it continues. “Banks are nervous to interact with legal marijuana businesses because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.”
“I firmly believe that we should legalize marijuana. But while I continue pushing for legalization, these businesses need our immediate support,” Schumer said in the email promoting the online petition, which is a common list-building tactic for campaign fundraising. “Sign on to support the SAFER Banking Act and make sure marijuana business owners can access basic banking services.”
Completing the sign-on form then takes people to a brief questionnaire inquiring about their familiarity with the cannabis banking issue.
“Did you know about 90 percent of U.S. banks deny service to marijuana businesses?” one question asks.
“Did you know that if marijuana businesses do manage to get a bank account, they’re often charged sky-high service fees to cover the bank’s liability?” another prompt says.
“Senate Democrats are looking out for small business owners and fighting to end the unjust criminalization of marijuana. Will you help protect our Democratic Senate Majority to keep making progress on these issues?” it concludes, listing donation options.
The ball is currently in Schumer’s court. The Senate Banking Committee approved the bipartisan cannabis legislation last September, and now it’s a matter of scheduling it for floor action before it’s potentially sent over to the House, which has passed earlier versions of the proposal in some form seven times in recent sessions.
But at least in terms of messaging, lawmakers seem freshly optimistic about the bill’s prospects.
Schumer told Marijuana Moment earlier this month that the bill remains a “very high priority” for the Senate, and members are having “very productive” bicameral talks to reach a final agreement.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also said on Thursday that passing the SAFER Banking Act off the floor is a “high priority.” However, he also recently said in a separate interview that advancing the legislation is complicated by current House dynamics.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) separately said during an American Bankers Association (ABA) summit on Tuesday that he wants to see the SAFER Banking Act move.
He said that, “for whatever reason, the federal government has been slow” to act on the incremental reform that he supports even though he doesn’t identify as “a marijuana guy.”
One key factor that’s kept the bill from the Senate floor is disagreement over mostly non-cannabis provisions dealing with broader banking regulations, primarily those contained in Section 10 of the legislation.
Bicameral negotiations have been ongoing, however, and recent reporting suggests that a final deal could be just over the horizon.
The Democratic Senate sponsor of the SAFER Banking Act, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), told Marijuana Moment this month that the legislation is “gaining momentum” as lawmakers work to bring it to the floor and pass it “this year.”
The office of the Republican SAFER Banking prime sponsor, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), separately told Marijuana Moment that “conversations have been productive and Senator Daines is working to get the bill across the finish line.”
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Bjones2
6 days ago
Germany legalises cannabis possession for personal use from April
German laws on cannabis use now among most liberal in Europe, but medical experts warn it ‘makes you stupid’.
22 Mar 2024
The German parliament has approved the partial legalisation of cannabis for personal use in a landmark vote that leaves the country with some of the most liberal laws on the substance in Europe.
Lawmakers in the Bundesrat, or the upper house, passed the long-debated bill on Friday, making it legal to obtain up to 25 grams (0.88 ounces) of the drug per day for personal use through regulated cannabis cultivation associations, as well as to have up to three plants at home, when the new rules come into effect on April 1.
The new law, which still prohibits possession and use of the drug for anyone under 18, will leave Germany with some of the most liberal cannabis laws in Europe.
Malta and Luxembourg legalised recreational use of the drug in 2021 and 2023, respectively. The Netherlands, known for its liberal cannabis laws, has been cracking down on sales to tourists and non-residents in recent years.
The cannabis law has been the subject of bitter wrangling within the coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz‘s Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). In their coalition agreement, the three parties had pledged to go further and allow cannabis to be sold in shops, a move slapped down by the European Union. They are now planning a second law to trial the drug’s sale in shops in certain regions.
In the run-up to the vote, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, a member of the Social Democrats, called on members of parliament to back the controversial law, arguing that the country had seen a sharp rise in the number of young people using cannabis obtained on the black market.
Simone Borchardt of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, said the new law, fiercely opposed by medical associations, would only increase health risks for young people, accusing the three parties in Scholz’s coalition government of “making policy for their ideology and not for the country”.
The changes, which were passed by the Bundestag, or the lower house, last month, did not formally require Bundesrat approval. However members of the upper house could have called on a mediation committee and slowed down the process.
Cannabis
People meet for ‘World Stoner Day’, a demonstration for the immediate decriminalisation of cannabis, in Berlin, Germany, on April 20, 2023 [Nadja Wohlleben/Reuters]
Divisive
Proponents of the law, such as the German Cannabis Association, say black market cannabis can include sand, hairspray, talcum powder, spices or even glass and lead. Cannabis can also be contaminated with heroin or synthetic cannabinoids that are up to 100 times stronger than natural psychoactive cannabinoids, experts have said.
Steffen Geyer, director of Berlin’s Hemp Museum, expressed relief at the law, saying Germany had become “a little bit more free and tolerant”.
“This is the first step on the road to a rational and science-based drugs policy,” he said.
Health experts opposing the law warned that cannabis use among young people can affect the development of the central nervous system, leading to an increased risk of developing psychosis and schizophrenia. Sustained use has also been linked to respiratory diseases and testicular cancer.
“Chronic cannabis use makes you stupid, to put it bluntly, and can also cause psychosis,” Thomas Fischbach, president of a German federation of doctors for children and adolescents (BVKJ), told the Die Welt newspaper.
“Cannabis use among young people will increase because such substances are always passed on to younger people,” he said. “This could have serious consequences for young people’s physical and mental health.”
Advertisement
The German public is divided on the new law: according to a YouGov poll published on Friday, 47 percent are in favour of the plans and 42 percent are against.
Bjones2
6 days ago
FDA says marijuana has a legitimate medicinal purpose
As a Schedule 1 drug, marijuana is currently in the same category as some of the hardest drugs, like heroin and LSD.
The FDA released a report saying that marijuana does have a legitimate use for medical purposes and recommended the US Drug Enforcement Agency to change its classification from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. “The definition of a schedule 1 drug says it has no health benefits to it, and, so, obviously, there’s been plenty of research that has documented the multitudes of ways that cannabis can be helpful,” said Dr. David Berger with Wholistic ReLeaf.
Marijuana
By: Anthony HillPosted at 5:43 AM, Mar 21, 2024 and last updated 7:13 PM, Mar 21, 2024
TAMPA, Fla. — The FDA released a report saying that marijuana does have a legitimate use for medical purposes and recommended the US Drug Enforcement Agency change its classification from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3.
“The definition of a schedule 1 drug says it has no health benefits to it, and, so, obviously, there’s been plenty of research that has documented the multitudes of ways that cannabis can be helpful,” said Dr. David Berger with Wholistic ReLeaf.
Recent Stories from abcactionnews.com
Though not all in the medical community agree, many people swear by the medicinal effects of marijuana to help treat symptoms of cancer, anxiety, PTSD and epilepsy.
“It’s no longer appropriate to say that there’s no medical benefit when there are hundreds if not thousands of medical studies that show the opposite,” explained Dr. Berger.
As a Schedule 1 drug, marijuana is in the same category as some of the hardest drugs like heroin and LSD, which means it’s classified as being more dangerous than fentanyl and methamphetamine.
“What happens after this is the federal government has more decisions to make as to what they’re going to do next,” said Dr. Berger.