The recommendation is the result of a yearlong review initiated by the president.

The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services is recommending that the Drug Enforcement Agency significantly loosen federal restrictions on marijuana but stopped short of advising that it should be entirely removed from the Controlled Substances Act.

The health agency wants the drug moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA, potentially the biggest change in federal drug policy in decades.

HHS Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine wrote in a Tuesday letter to the DEA, first reported by Bloomberg News, that the recommendation was based on a review conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.

    • Transient PunkEnglish
      64•1 year ago

      The executive branch president doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally deschedule it. I’m no Biden fan, but this is him working toward that promise. I do wish his moves were less political in nature, but maybe we can get a more unhinged dark Brandon if he gets reelected.

      Edited for clarity.

      • Franzia
        5•1 year ago

        What would you like from him? I see that he is very aggressively chasing public favor. “his moves were less political” - so there is something you’d like him to do that wouldn’t be so popular?

        • Transient PunkEnglish
          2•1 year ago

          By less political, I mean moves that are meant to not shake the boat, such as falling short of just outright stating that weed should be legalized.

          Edit: misplaced not

      • @bemenakerEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        Yes it does. The drug schedule is set by the FDA which is under the executive branch. The President cannot LEGALIZE it, that takes an act of Congress. But, the drug classification is completely in their power.

        • Transient PunkEnglish
          3•1 year ago

          a substance can be placed in a CSA (Controlled Substances Act) schedule, moved to a different schedule, or removed from control under the CSA either by legislation or through an administrative rulemaking process overseen by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and based on criteria set out in the CSA. The CSA also directs the Attorney General (who has delegated CSA scheduling authority to DEA) to schedule substances as required to comply with the United States’ treaty obligations.

          If the President sought to act in the area of controlled substances regulation, he would likely do so by executive order. However, the Supreme Court has held that the President has the power to issue an executive order only if authorized by “an act of Congress or . . . the Constitution itself.” The CSA does not provide a direct role for the President in the classification of controlled substances, nor does Article II of the Constitution grant the President power in this area (federal controlled substances law is an exercise of Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce). Thus, it does not appear that the President could directly deschedule or reschedule marijuana by executive order.

          Sauce: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10655

          the drug classification is completely in their power.

          That would be nice, but it isn’t how our government works.

          • @bemenakerEnglish
            1•1 year ago

            True, but the DEA is also under the President, and it’s head is picked by the President. It is the DEAs decision, but their boss has input. I know it’s not simple, but there is incredibly strong influence.

            • Transient PunkEnglish
              1•1 year ago

              Hence him pushing for rescheduling. At this point, you are just restating the point I was making in my original comment. Biden’s doing what he has the power/influence to do to get marijuana legalized.

      • @Ensign_CrabEnglish
        -4•1 year ago

        The executive branch doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally deschedule it.

        Either he promised to do something he couldn’t do and you’re defending him for it, or he promised to do something he could do and you’re making excuses for him.

        • @[email protected]
          11•1 year ago

          I am pretty sure he didn’t actually promise it. I know he said he supports decriminalization and getting it rescheduled to Schedule 2, but I am pretty confident he never went out and said “I will get it moved to schedule 2” or anything along those lines.

          I have seen a lot of people say about what he promised to do while campaigning but I am pretty sure it is mostly people taking him saying he wants to do something and reading it as him saying “I will do this”. Joe Biden has been in politics a very long time and knows what the president can and can’t do, I doubt he overpromised.

          It isn’t like he ran as a progressive, he didn’t make a ton of big promises while campaigning. It was basically him saying “I will make things somewhat normal” after the Trunp presidency.

            • @[email protected]
              5•1 year ago

              I agree with you, at least under Joe Biden. And I hate that nothing will change under Joe Biden. I’m just saying that he didn’t advertise himself on things changing. He advertised himself as being sane and stable compared to Donald Trump. Which he has pretty much fulfilled.

              Nobody here is really defending Joe Biden or making excuses for him. We just acknowledge who he is as a politician. Personally, considering Joe Biden’s track record on drugs/weed, I’m pleased with what he has done and with this. It isn’t what I want, but this was a man who wrote anti-drug legislation while in Congress, this is more than I’d have expected from him if you asked me prior to him running for President.

        • @[email protected]
          8•1 year ago

          What a negative take. OP just finished saying Biden is taking steps to fulfill his promise, and you’re trying to put an ultimatum on “he can, or he cannot.” It is never that black and white nor is it an overnight action

          • Transient PunkEnglish
            7•1 year ago

            Our populace has been conditioned to see issues as black and white. If people recognized the nuance in topics like this, it would be much harder to divide us on ideological lines, and therefore harder to control us.

            It’s not their fault, but we should just generally ignore takes like that. It’s usually not even worth responding to.