The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is seeking to participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s upcoming administrative hearing regarding the broad rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
The hearing, set for June 29, will consider the 2023 recommendation by the Department of Health and Human Services to reclassify cannabis broadly under the CSA and is separate from the recent decision by the federal government to move medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.
NORML is seeking formal participant status in the hearing as an “interested person,” arguing that the record will be incomplete without the perspective of adult cannabis consumers.
In a statement, Joseph A. Bondy, chair of NORML’s board of directors and counsel to NORML, said that “Adult cannabis consumers do not become patients because federal law lacks a better category for them.”
“Marijuana cannot lawfully remain in Schedule I. But Schedule III is not the end of the road. It is, at most, an interim correction. It does not resolve the federal government’s continued failure to recognize adult cannabis consumers who are acting lawfully under state law.” — Bondy in a statement
NORML’s filing contends that federal scheduling of cannabis directly affects consumers’ legal status, their access to tested and labeled products, exposure to collateral consequences, and their ability to participate safely state-regulated markets. The filing further argues that a Schedule III rule, if treated as final, would continue to leave adult-use cannabis consumers federally exposed while medicalizing lawful cannabis use.
NORML previously filed to participate in hearings scheduled for last year – which were ultimately canceled – but was not among the parties selected.
