On Thursday, 29 House and Senate representatives and senators from both parties wrote to Vice President Joe Biden, asking him to officially support federal legalization of marijuana as the government conducts a review of cannabis scheduling at his direction. Last week, Marijuana Moment got the content of a letter signed by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Dave Joyce (R-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Brian Mast (R-FL), and co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.
We realize across the aisle that ongoing federal prohibition and criminalization of marijuana does not reflect the will of the larger American electorate,” the letter reads. “Your administration’s agenda needs to more accurately reflect this reality.” In a letter to the president, senators argue that marijuana should not be classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act because of its low risk of addiction and significant potential for abuse.
Here’s the Complete List of Signatories on The Letter:
- Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
- Rep. David Joyce (R-OH)
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
- Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
- Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL)
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
- Sen. Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR)
- Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC)
- Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
- Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA)
- Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)
- Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA)
- Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
- Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
- Rep. Katie Porter Member (D-CA)
- Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
- Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)
- Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
- Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA)
- Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)
- Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)
- Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL)
- Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)
- Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN)
- Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA)
- Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA)
- Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO)
It is time to totally right the damage is done when the scheduling of marijuana was decided on the basis of prejudice rather than evidence. It goes on to say that the House has twice supported bills to nationally legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis and that “Descheduling marijuana can protect federal and state authority to control cannabis,” while also allowing states to continue to outlaw cannabis manufacturing and sales if they so choose.
Furthermore, normalizing federal cannabis legislation and reducing the unfair constraints imposed on researchers studying Marijuana compared to other Schedule I substances go hand in hand. In order to allow for meaningful research advancement, legal job creation, promotion of public safety rather than unjust incarceration, and uphold established state regulation of cannabis production, taxation, and sales, the federal government must rectify this prohibition and the continued criminalization of otherwise legal marijuana.
Legislators wrote, “We cannot negate the need for legislative action and federal guidance on many of these components, but all branches of the federal government must recognize the need for the DeScheduling of marijuana and in a manner that protects the will of each state and the markets and regulations that are within their authority to establish.”
After big defeats this month, the letter was delivered to the president and other cabinet members after lawmakers failed to include marijuana banking and other reforms in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or the omnibus spending bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen.
Pat Toomey (R-PA) was ultimately to blame, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday, who has been trying to finalize the so-called SAFE Plus bill. The following year, he promised to “get back at it.” The majority leader reportedly “made a last-ditch effort” last week to attach the cannabis banking language to the funding measure, but ultimately failed to do so.
Until the next Congress, he warned, when Republicans take over the House, the issue will not be addressed. Until then, a group of lawmakers from both parties in Congress would like to see Biden take an active role in their efforts to legalize Marijuana on a national level.
The letter to Biden does not directly request that he repeal the prohibition on his own, but it does hint that his backing of the cause could be decisive. Presently, the President is in favor of decriminalization and allowing individual states to establish their own policies, but he has not yet expressed support for nationwide legalization.
To paraphrase the alliance of legislators: “Descheduling is critical to stop the destructive federal prohibition of marijuana and enable our law enforcement personnel appropriately prioritize public safety.” By opening up possibilities for regulating and taxing commercial marijuana activity, “Descheduling also provides the simplest approach to alleviate the legal uncertainties affecting small enterprises in jurisdictions with regulated cannabis markets.”
We count on HHS and DOJ to keep moving quickly with their review of marijuana’s scheduling as per your instructions. While Congress prepares to bring you complete cannabis legislation, the Administration’s approach to overall cannabis reform should be informed by the necessity of full DeScheduling. It is both antiquated and out of touch with the will of the American people that marijuana remains on the wrong schedule.
We anticipate your administration’s open and constructive cooperation with Congress in order to take this necessary action. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who is copied on the letter, recently tweeted a link to a Marijuana Moment story on the president’s administrative cannabis scheduling policy.
Becerra, who has a lengthy record of supporting cannabis legalization as a congressman and as California’s attorney general, said at the recent overdose prevention event, “We’re going to take a look at what science tells us and what the evidence tells us.”
And that, we believe, will serve as a guidepost for the federal government when it takes action, is what we mean when we say, “That will The secretary promised that the government will “work as swiftly as we can” to complete the scientific evaluation after the president’s announcement of cannabis pardons and scheduling.
In that regard, he has already broached the topic with the FDA commissioner. Lawmakers have also copied Attorney General Merrick Garland on their letter because he is overseeing the scheduling review as head of the Justice Department. The White House’s drug czar has also recently commented on the president’s decision, calling it “historic” and stating that there are “obviously” medical benefits of cannabis.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is also committed to conducting the president-ordered scheduling review as expeditiously as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which could lead to a recommendation to place cannabis in a lower schedule or remove it entirely, effectively legalizing the plant at the federal level.
Separately, Biden recently applauded the decision by the governor of Oregon to pardon thousands of people for marijuana convictions this month. He also recommends that other states “follow Oregon’s lead.” This month also saw the president’s signature on the first-ever stand-alone federal cannabis reform legislation in the United States, a bill to legalize marijuana research.
Multiple polls have revealed that the majority of Americans agree that marijuana shouldn’t be categorized as a Schedule I substance at the federal level and that they support the president’s decision to pardon some of those who have been convicted of drug crimes.
