So will Biden finally reschedule?

sweetisland2009

Well-Known Member
Ok midterms over and that’s that. Are people around him or within the Democratic Party putting pressure on this administration to reschedule cannabis/reform federal cannabis laws? Is there something holding Biden/dems back? What are the chances it happens before the next election now?


My real question/concern would be if its just a talking point or carrot to dangle in front of voters until the next election: instead of actually addressing it when you’re in a position to do so. I’m really hoping something happens sooner rather than later
 

waktoo

Well-Known Member
It's complicated...

"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.

Although the President may not unilaterally deschedule or reschedule a controlled substance, he does
possess a large degree of indirect influence over scheduling decisions. The President could pursue the
appointment of agency officials who favor descheduling, or use executive orders to direct DEA, HHS,
and FDA to consider administrative descheduling of marijuana. The notice-and-comment rulemaking
process would take time, and would be subject to judicial review if challenged, but could be done
consistently with the CSA’s procedural requirements. In the alternative, the President could work with
Congress to pursue descheduling through an amendment to the CSA."


 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
Ok midterms over and that’s that. Are people around him or within the Democratic Party putting pressure on this administration to reschedule cannabis/reform federal cannabis laws? Is there something holding Biden/dems back? What are the chances it happens before the next election now?


My real question/concern would be if its just a talking point or carrot to dangle in front of voters until the next election: instead of actually addressing it when you’re in a position to do so. I’m really hoping something happens sooner rather than later
You offer a false choice. Biden doesn't have the authority. Congress does. Do you think Republicans are going to support rescheduling? Democrats support it.

I tend to take a strong disliking to people who ask questions that are false choices. It's like they are lying to my face while trying to be clever.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
You offer a false choice. Biden doesn't have the authority. Congress does. Do you think Republicans are going to support rescheduling? Democrats support it.

I tend to take a strong disliking to people who ask questions that are false choices. It's like they are lying to my face while trying to be clever.
Biden has had control of both chambers of Congress for two years. He's not going to waste any political capital to deschedule cannabis. The process for him is complicated, would take a lot of time and bureaucratic headaches, generate tens of thousands of pages of documentation, would need to be reviewed by dozens of different people numerous times, etc... The easiest way would be for Congress to amend the CSA which won't happen. There are Democrats in conservative districts that are not going to vote for it. There is no real benefit in legalizing cannabis at the federal level. Taking a "Leave it to the states" approach which is what Obama, trump, and now Biden have done is the smartest thing for an administration to do.
 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
Biden has had control of both chambers of Congress for two years. He's not going to waste any political capital to deschedule cannabis. The process for him is complicated, would take a lot of time and bureaucratic headaches, generate tens of thousands of pages of documentation, would need to be reviewed by dozens of different people numerous times, etc... The easiest way would be for Congress to amend the CSA which won't happen. There are Democrats in conservative districts that are not going to vote for it. There is no real benefit in legalizing cannabis at the federal level. Taking a "Leave it to the states" approach which is what Obama, trump, and now Biden have done is the smartest thing for an administration to do.
Biden never had a veto proof Senate and so, the past two years are irrelevant in this discussion.

Yes, what you say is all true but complicated. It's not that complicated. Biden doesn't have the power to deschedule. And I do mean deschedule, not reschedule.

Republicans in Congress will never allow descheduling, which pretty much ends the story. Republicans are the problem. Vote Republicans out.
 
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