NSA Comments on DEA's NPRM to Reschedule Marijuana

DEA may move marijuana to schedule II only, not III.

Marijuana has been in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) since 1970, and this placement has aligned with the scientific and medical reasoning and recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—each of the several times the issue has come up. On May 16, 2024, however, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced its intention to move marijuana from schedule I to schedule III. HHS has suddenly changed its scientific and medical reasoning, and the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the U.S. Department of Justice has written an accommodating opinion.

The people in over 3,000 counties across the country elect their sheriffs, and sheriffs are dedicated to public safety. Sheriffs see marijuana’s worst effects on people in the streets and in the county jail. Along with other first responders, sheriffs see marijuana’s effects on drivers. At most, the law and evidence support rescheduling marijuana from I to II, not III.