DEA Head Tells Lawmakers It Would Be ‘Inappropriate’ To Comment On Marijuana Rescheduling Proposal Due To ‘Ongoing’ Administrative Process

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told lawmakers on Tuesday that it would be “inappropriate” for her to comment on the agency’s recent marijuana rescheduling determination because the rulemaking process is “ongoing.”

About a week after the Justice Department confirmed DEA is seeking to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), DEA Administrator Anne Milgram briefly touched on the issue at a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

Ahead of Tuesday’s committee meeting, the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) said sources familiar with the matter have told them that Milgram did not personally sign the proposed rescheduling rule. If true, that wouldn’t necessarily mean that she disagrees with the decision—but the administrator made clear to lawmakers that she would not be shedding any light on the process at this point.

Milgram focused much of his opening remarks on combating international fentanyl trafficking, but she also preemptively addressed the marijuana rescheduling news.

“Because the formal rulemaking process is ongoing—and my role in that process is to determine the scheduling of drugs—it would be inappropriate for me to respond to questions on this rescheduling matter,” she said at the end of her opening remarks at the hearing.

While DOJ is moving to reschedule cannabis following an extensive review process, there are still several additional steps before a rule is finalized and implemented. That includes a White House review of the rule, a public comment period and possible administrative hearings.

Later this year, another DEA representative, William Heuett, is set to present on the agency’s “processing of schedule I research applications” at a federal research meeting on the potential for marijuana to treat pain. It’s not clear how that presentation might be updated in light of the ongoing rescheduling process.

Meanwhile in the wake of the DEA rescheduling announcement, a former head of the agency said the proposal is “understandable” because it “reflects the reality” of public opinion toward the medical value of cannabis.

In an interview with Fox News last week week, former DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson said it “absolutely looks like” the agency will follow through with moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

“Whenever we see over a dozen states now have medical marijuana, clearly there’s a movement for reclassification,” he said. “And so it’s not a surprise to me.”

“I think it reflects the reality of today’s both culture but also the public sentiment. That’s most significant,” said Hutchinson, a Republican who also served as governor of Arkansas.

Separately, the top Democrat in the U.S. House said last week that the Biden administration’s move to reschedule marijuana is a “step in the right direction,” but it should be followed up with congressional action such as passing the legalization bill Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) filed.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, a Republican senator said that marijuana is a “gateway drug,” and Democrats’ moves to legalize it reflect “pro-criminal, anti-American policies” that will “stimulate more crime on American streets.” He also argued that cannabis banking legislation “facilitates an entire infrastructure and an ecosystem for more drug usage in America.”