Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids, following a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department. After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule.
A very good development for reducing mass incarceration, but:
- Listen Fat, this is too little too late to save the 2024 election, if it'll have even gone into effect by then.
- How fucking incompetent are Democrats that they're taking the clock down to zero on this obvious win that should have been a "first 100 days" item.
Some good info for the discussion:
https://mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/can-the-president-reschedule-or-deschedule-marijuana%EF%BF%BC/
I think the question is whether Biden had to go through some lengthy process to coax the DEA to reschedule, or if he could have just ordered them to. Even supposing there's a statutory requirement to go through some review process, he could have (1) set the process in motion on January 21, 2021, instead of waiting 22 months, and (2) applied political pressure to the agency to expedite the review. I agree this is the only route to rescheduling, but even assuming he couldn't just order the DEA to do it, there was still a lot of meat left on the bone.
I could only get the abstract for the article, but the linked brief is likely more than enough. You're right that intense pressure could have been out on the agencies to expedite the process, specifically, the Attorney General, FDA, and DEA heads are all appointed positions and can be removed from office with relative ease, but that move would come at a heavy cost.
The subtext though is that it's not a priority for him besides being a campaign bullet point, which you've already touched on plenty and I agree with. Rescheduling doesn't redeem anything in my eyes, but I'm not going to look down on positive progress when it happens. So make sure to 420blazeit and celebrate.
You should be able to get it from SSRN by clicking "Download This Paper", then "Download without registration" on the following page (you may need to scroll down a bit if you're on mobile), and finally "Download".
Oh shit, thanks for letting me know. Funny enough, I even tried to download the pdf, but mistook that "download without registration" as a heading for their marketing section!