Hearing proceedings regarding the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) proposed rescheduling of marijuana began December 2. This first meeting served as a procedural day, allowing the presiding Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney to raise clarifying questions with the organizations and individuals DEA has designated as hearing participants. Shortly after, on December 4, Judge Mulrooney issued a pre-hearing ruling that sets a schedule, running from January 21 to March 6, for participants to present substantive information and testimony. DEA will be the first to present, then other participants will follow, starting with organizations supporting the proposed rescheduling and followed by organizations opposed. Once the hearing concludes, the ALJ will submit its findings to the DEA. The DEA will consider them, along with public comments submitted during the rulemaking and other information, to make a final determination about whether and how to finalize the proposed rule.

On September 25, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act, which proposes to establish national standards relating to hemp-derived cannabis products. The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

According to a summary from Sen. Wyden’s office, the Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act establishes a regulatory regime for “cannabinoid products,” which contain cannabinoids from hemp (including CBD, delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and many others). Producers of cannabinoid products (which may be foods, beverages, topicals, supplements or cosmetics, so long as they comply with these provisions) would be required to register with the FDA and test their products for potency, pesticides, heavy metals, chemical byproducts and additives. The FDA would be required to promulgate rules specifying manufacturing and testing requirements to ensure the safety of all products.  LeadingAge will review and monitor this legislation.

The 2018 farm bill legalized hemp production by establishing a statutory definition that excludes hemp from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, and a huge variety of products have been introduced into the market since then.  That bill also preserved the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority to regulate products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds under the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act, however, the FDA has been less active than was anticipated.

On August 29, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will formally publish notice that it will hold a hearing beginning December 2 on the rescheduling of marijuana into schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA authorizes DOJ to transfer a drug from one schedule to another by issuing a rule, made on the record after opportunity for a hearing, under the formal rulemaking procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act. This notice confirms that DEA has authorized a hearing to receive factual evidence and expert opinion regarding whether marijuana should be transferred to schedule III. This means that a final decision by DEA in this rulemaking process will not be completed prior to the November election and may likely be delayed until after the next President is sworn into office.

On August 2, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, released a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report on the Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids and Barriers to Research. Consistent with an earlier HHS analysis that underlies the Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposal to transfer marijuana to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, this report to Congress states that there are medical benefits associated with the use of FDA-approved cannabinoid medications and there is credible scientific support suggesting that cannabis has additional therapeutic potential.

HHS further notes, however, that additional research is needed to address a variety of risks and unknowns relating to the use of cannabis, and that barriers to research must be addressed, such as that researchers cannot legally obtain or analyze products sold through state marijuana dispensaries under current DEA regulations.

LeadingAge summited a July 22 letter in support of a proposal from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act. This LeadingAge article provides additional information and background, including a link to our comments.

We wrote that a transfer to Schedule III could lead to a greater volume of beneficial research on medical uses of cannabis as well as potential risks of misuse or abuse, and that it may begin to address some of the misalignment between federal and state laws, such as HUD guidance that the use of medical marijuana is illegal under federal law even if it is permitted under state law, which creates access barriers in HUD-assisted housing.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Drug Enforcement Administration, initiated a formal rulemaking process on May 21 to consider moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.  In August 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be reclassified, and a related DOJ press statement from the Department confirms that it will propose the schedule transfer, consistent with the view of HHS that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use as well as HHS’s views about marijuana’s abuse potential and level of physical or psychological dependence.