In a letter sent to the heads of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) this week, 29 former U.S. attorneys are urging the Biden administration to leave cannabis in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), arguing that “marijuana has only become more dangerous, potent, and addictive” since the government last reviewed its scheduling in 2016.
The correspondence comes as DEA continues its review of marijuana’s scheduling after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended in August that the substance be moved, reportedly to Schedule III.
“Almost no one has benefitted from legal weed,” the former federal prosecutors claim in the new letter, “but there is one group coming out on top: drug cartels. Many states have enacted home-grow marijuana laws, which led to cartels growing marijuana in the United States to cut trafficking costs.”
The letter, to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, does not cite a source for that claim. Most states limit legal home cultivation for cannabis to less than a dozen plants and outlaw unlicensed commercial sales.
One of the main reasons for marijuana’s current Schedule I status is the government’s assertion that the plant has no recognized medical use—an issue reform advocates have challenged as more than three-quarters of all U.S. states have adopted medical cannabis laws.
Hellbound and Down 