The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has set the date for a hearing to discuss rescheduling cannabis as part of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and it won’t happen until after the presidential election in November.
The agency this week released a notice regarding the hearing, which is scheduled to happen on December 2, 2024. The purpose of the hearing is to receive factual evidence and expert opinion regarding whether marijuana should be transferred to schedule III of the list of controlled substances.
The DEA is opening the hearing to “any person adversely affected or aggrieved by any rule or proposed rule issuable.” The DOJ received about 43,000 comments during its 60-day public comment period.
The CSA places various substances in five schedules. Cannabis currently sits in Schedule I alongside heroin and LSD. Schedule I substances are defined as drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. HHS has recommended moving cannabis to Schedule III with other substances considered to have moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence along with currently accepted uses for medical treatment.
