DEA
S3 Collective and MCSA File Public Comment Response to Proposed Cannabis Rescheduling
S3 Collective and the Medical Cannabis Student Association (MCSA) have submitted a comprehensive public comment to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) supporting the reclassification of cannabis to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This official response to Docket No. 2024-11137 highlights the unique role that experienced technical organizations play […]
Marijuana rescheduling leaves regulators and sellers cautiously optimistic
Related Articles A move by the Biden Administration to change how marijuana is treated by federal authorities was met with cautious approval by Massachusetts state regulators, cannabis sellers, and national marijuana advocates alike. The Drug Enforcement Agency will drop marijuana from the list of banned substances found under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, […]
HHS Recommends Rescheduling Cannabis, Surprising an Entire Industry
In the most unexpected development to hit the cannabis industry in years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra shared his agency’s recommendation that, based on data and scientific analysis, cannabis, a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, should be reclassified as a Schedule III drug. The announcement […]
HHS Recommends DEA Reschedule Cannabis to Schedule III
Massively promising news for the cannabis industry today that many are calling historic: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), recommending that cannabis be rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule III. The news was originally reported by Bloomberg, but further expanded on (and without […]
FDA Punts on CBD Rules
On December 20, 2018, Former President Trump signed the Farm Bill into law, which removed hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) from the Controlled Substances Act, stripped the DEA’s authority from hemp and gave states the ability to regulate hemp markets of their own, with approval from the USDA. When that Farm Bill became law, it paved the […]
DEA Attorney Claims Feds Will Reschedule Marijuana This Summer
Mark August 1, 2016, down your calendar, it should be an important date to remember… at least if you’ve been waiting for the world-class disaster that is the Schedule One classification of cannabis to be changed. That’s right, embarrassed by failure and pressured by public opinion; it’s the day the US government will supposedly reclassify cannabis as […] Thanks to marijuana.com
CBD Research: DEA Loosens Restrictions for Studying Beneficial Cannabinoid
Whether for greed or science, the DEA has reduced restrictions on researching the CBD cannabinoid. Last week rumor, innuendo, and hope filled the air. As the charitable season of Christmas took hold, there was a glimmer of hope that the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) could be on the precipice of a historic decision, downgrading the Schedule I status of […]
California High Court Ruling: DEA Breaking The Law By Raiding Legal Dispensaries
Better late than never: Signaling a significant victory for patients and dispensaries participating in state sanctioned medical marijuana programs, a federal Judge ruled on Monday the DEA must back-off raiding and shutting down medical marijuana collectives legally operating under California’s Prop 215, first passed in 1996.
Charles Breyer, U.S. District Judge (Photo Courtesy of SFGate Blog)
Starting the week off on a high note, Charles Breyer, a U.S. District Judge from Northern California, admonished the DEA with a ruling critical of the agency for its systematical harassment of the medical marijuana community. Citing last year’s Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, Judge Breyer noted it prevents the use of any government funds from being utilized for such actions.
Representing the first ruling of its kind by a federal judge, this decision safeguards all state marijuana laws. Preventing the DOJ (Department of Justice) from spending any of our tax dollars to bust legal dispensaries or MMJ patients in any of the 23 states that have voter approved medical marijuana programs.
According to Time.com:
” Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. district court in northern California disagreed with the DEA memo, writing in his decision that the department’s interpretation of the law “defies language and logic” and is “at odds with fundamental notions of the rule of law.” Instead, the court sided with the dispensaries, saying the department could not interfere with medical marijuana providers operating legally under state regulations.”
MAMM vs USDOJ – Charles R. Breyer ruling to lift injunction
Lynette Shaw, owner of Fairfax’s Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana (Photo Courtesy of MarinIJ)
The recent ruling involves the case of Lynette Shaw, owner of Fairfax’s Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana. Shaw was originally forced to close her shop four years ago after the Department of Justice decided to make an example of her –– issuing a federal cease and desist order against her dispensary.
While the feds claim they were dazed and confused over the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, not sure whether it was meant to stop the DOJ from spending taxpayer cash to crush marijuana related businesses and prosecute patients in medical marijuana states – or simply cut off any federal funding that would discourage states from legalizing medical marijuana.
Attempting to justify their position earlier this year, the Justice Department told The LA Times the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment only stops the feds from “Impeding the ability of states to carry out their medical marijuana laws,” leaving individuals within the medical marijuana community open to prosecution.
Thanks to Judge Breyer’s recent moral epiphany – – and clarifying that congressional law “forbids the Department of Justice from enforcing this injunction against MAMM to the extent that MAMM operates in compliance with state California law” – – the Justice Department may find themselves strapped for cash during their next attempt at circumventing state law and ignoring an individuals civil liberties.
(Main Photo Courtesy of the Huffington Post)
Marijuana Industry News March 8, 2013
Ex-DEA Officials Pressure White House to Go After New Recreational Marijuana States…
As we have previously reported at Marijuana.net, federal authorities have remained relatively quiet on the issue of legal marijuana ever since the voters of Colorado and Washington state decided to legalize recreational use. The issue is gaining national acceptance as a recent Reason/Rupe poll suggested that 72% of Americans do not think marijuana users should be arrested. The poll also found that 68% of respondents do not feel growers should be arrested. Fifty three percent of those included in the national poll said they felt marijuana should be regulated in a similar fashion to alcohol. Even with swelling public support, former DEA officials are trying to convince the federal government to overpower Colorado and Washington. The retired DEA members feel that if the feds do not act now, they may lose the issue forever. Peter Bensinger, a former DEA administrator recently told the Associated Press that “My fear is that the Justice Department will do what they are doing now: Do nothing and say nothing. If they don’t act now, these laws will be fully implemented in a matter of months.” In a country where consensus is becoming a rare phenomenon, these soaring levels of support may already have signaled the point of no return. As we start to feel the impact of sequestration and lack of compromise, DEA officials may find it a tough sell to continue using tax dollars to go after marijuana users and growers. Additionally, federal law is actually preventing billions in potential tax revenue that is desperately needed.
For more on this story click here
New Jersey Lawmakers Seeking to Keep Medical Marijuana Patients on Organ Transplant List…
Many lawmakers around the United States have long snickered at medical marijuana. The easy and quick analysis is that it MUST be front a for those looking to circumvent the law. However, for many this is the most serious issue they have ever encountered in their life. As millions worldwide have improved their quality of life with medical marijuana use, naïve talking point politicians have been slow to research the issue. One major problem for elderly medical marijuana patients is that they typically taken off organ recipient lists. This places them in a difficult situation. How does one value the long term (needed organ transplant) over the short term (immediate daily pain relieved by cannabis)? New Jersey is attempting to fix this before it becomes a major issue in the Garden State. Earlier this week, New Jersey’s Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed S-1220. The panel stated that S-1220 “would provide that a registered, qualifying patient’s authorized use of medical marijuana would be considered equivalent to using other prescribed medication rather than an illicit substance and therefore would not disqualify the person from needed medical care, such as an organ transplant.” It took New Jersey several years to cut through their bureaucratic red tape and institute a medical marijuana program passed under previous Governor, Jim Corzine. However, it is reassuring to see that they are taking a compassionate approach with this issue. In a press release by the bill’s co-sponsors, lawmakers said that removing patients from the organ recipient list because of medical marijuana use is a practice that is “unconscionable as the patients have followed their doctors’ orders and have taken a legal medication to reduce the pain and suffering associated with their illness. Transplant centers should not be able to discriminate against people for using this prescription pain killer.”
For more on this story click here
Michigan Judge Rules that Medical Marijuana Patients Cannot be Denied Unemployment Benefits…
The story above highlighted a victory for patients in New Jersey. We also have good news to report for those patients in Michigan. Last August, a Michigan court ruled that the Michigan Marijuana Act of 2008 “does not offer any employment protection to card holders” and “does not regulate private employment.” In September the decision was upheld when former Walmart employee, Joseph Casias, was let go for marijuana use even as he was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. He was also denied benefits after being let go. This week, Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette ruled that medical marijuana patients can receive unemployment benefits after termination of employment. Medical marijuana has had a wild ride in Michigan over the course of the past several years since it was legalized in 2008. Even as Michigan lawmakers and state Attorney General, Bill Schuette, try to fight against medical marijuana, residents have made it clear they support a patient’s right to use medical cannabis. Michigan has some of the most progressive medical marijuana laws and is one of the only states that allows for minors to receive legal marijuana for certain qualifying conditions.
Large Marijuana Grow Found in Plain Sight Within Chicago City Limits…
Marijuana grows are located by authorities with great frequency. A simple Google search using the key word “marijuana” will almost always quickly produce many stories where authorities have discovered large scale grows. Even as this is occurring regularly, authorities still seemed to be baffled at how widespread marijuana is. While the reports seem to indicate some sort of victory by law enforcement, they are only revealing a drop in the bucket. For every illegal grow discovered there are countless that they will not find. This is to be expected as an outdated approach can only yield outdated results.
The desperate need for cannabis regulation cannot be more clear after we learned of a developing story in America’s third largest city, Chicago. Authorities found rows of marijuana plants, with many being 10 feet tall, lined in a space located just off the Bishop Ford Freeway. Edward Graney of the Cooke County Sheriff’s Police Department noticed a patch of lime green while on a routine helicopter flight. He said “I never thought I’d see something like this.” Barely believing the location and size of the operation Graney went on to say “When I walked in there to get my head around this, I couldn’t believe how big it was, I was in shock. Basically, someone put 1,500 plants in the middle of an industrial park.”
As government officials still hope for a naturally growing plant to simply disappear off the face of the earth, their approach seems sillier by the day. The field off the Chicago highway was estimated to contain as much as $10 million of street valued marijuana. These illegal grows will never be taxed and often it is difficult to even ascertain who is behind the operation. The size and location of plants found shows that those growing are not exactly living in fear of authorities. If one of the world’s largest metropolitan area is now considered a safe place to grow marijuana in the open, what hope does law enforcement have of uncovering grows deep in the woods of rural areas?
Police and DEA officials are left without the ability to enforce marijuana policy. Of course it is not the fault of individual agents. Would we hand modern physicians tools from last century and demand cutting edge results? Regulation and legal economics offer the only plausible way to move forward. If marijuana were regulated within the United States, the need for a black market would quickly dissipate. Once the economics and demand are damaged, illegal drug trafficking simply will not offer lucrative rewards. Those new lucrative rewards could be redistributed toward tax payers or for repairing our crumbling bridges and infrastructure. That would also result in putting many of the currently 7.8% of our population who find themselves unemployed. For those serious about keeping marijuana away from children and restoring our economic prosperity should be shocked at the decades long failure that has produced an even larger and more dangerous unregulated marijuana market.