Twelve Senate Democrats this week called on the Biden Administration to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in a letter to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), according to an NBC News report. Cannabis has been considered a Schedule I substance, since 1971
“The case for removing marijuana from Schedule I is overwhelming,” the letter argues. “The DEA should do so by removing cannabis from the CSA altogether, rather than simply placing it in a lower schedule.”
The senators’ call for the complete removal of cannabis from the federal drug schedule comes following a recommendation by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that cannabis be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA. The DEA has since argued that it should have the final say regarding the federal status of cannabis.
The letter, led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), carries the signatures of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and nine other senators.
“The Biden Administration has a window of opportunity to deschedule marijuana that has not existed in decades and should reach the right conclusion — consistent with the clear scientific and public health rationale for removing marijuana from