DEA Opens Hearing On Rescheduling Of Marijuana As Less Dangerous Drug

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration opened its hearings on the rescheduling of marijuana under federal law on Monday, according to MJBiz Daily.

The preliminary hearing, held at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, served as a procedural day to address legal and logistical issues and discuss future dates for the evidentiary hearing on the merits.

In May, the DEA made the landmark decision to re-classify marijuana as a less dangerous drug under the Controlled Substances Act.  It would be categorized as a Schedule III drug instead of its current Schedule 1 classification, which subjects it to the same strict restrictions as narcotics such as heroin, methamphetamines and LSD.

The proposal went through a 60-day public comment period and now is being reviewed by an administrative judge before the final rule is published.

John Mulrooney II, the DEA’s chief administrative law judge, said the hearings on the merits of the decision will begin in mid-January and be held Tuesday through Thursday.  During Monday’s two-hour session, he focused on narrowing down the evidence and testimony he will be hearing to help him make a decision.

“Remember, everybody, this is not a trial whether marijuana is good or bad,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s good. My issues are much more narrow than that.  It has to do with addiction potential and several other little pigeonholes that I have.”

“So to the extent that I’ve ever had an opinion—which it hasn’t really entered much into my life—it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Another aspect of Monday’s hearing dealt with determining availability from the 19 designated participants’ witnesses  and questioning whether some qualified as experts.

More filings on the matter are due Dec. 13 and documents will be due Jan. 3.

Marijuana has been categorized as a Schedule 1 drug since 1971, defined as those with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Under Schedule III it would be classified along with substances such as Tylenol with codeine, steroids and testosterone.

The rescheduling would also allow cannabis to be studied and researched to identify its medical benefits.

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