(The Center Square) — The Drug Enforcement Administration has been asked by a Florida congressman for its plans to remove marijuana from the list of drugs of abuse.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., sent a letter to the DEA’s Administrator Ann Milgram last week to follow up on testimony given by Milgrim in front of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance in July.
According to a news release from Gaetz’s office, during the testimony, Milgrim stated that President Joe Biden had sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice requesting that the agencies begin the descheduling process of marijuana as a Schedule I drug.
Schedule I drugs are considered by the DEA to be “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide, ecstasy and peyote.
Gaetz stated that during the testimony, Milgrim had also committed to requesting from the HHS their recommendations for descheduling marijuana. Gaetz had requested a copy of the letter and the response was expected by Sept. 15, according to the news release.
“In response to my questioning as to why the Biden administration has not removed marijuana from the list of Schedule I drugs, you stated that the ‘President had sent a letter to the Secretary of HHS and to the Attorney General to ask for the scheduling/descheduling process to begin,'” Gaetz said in his letter to Milgrim.
Gaetz added that while it was reassuring that Biden had formally requested to begin the process of descheduling marijuana, he found it concerning that a timeline had yet to be provided by HHS. Gaetz noted that when asked when the recommendation would be received, Milgrim said she would ask HHS.
“I believe it is important for the administration to be transparent with Congress regarding where the process of descheduling marijuana stands,” Gaetz said in his letter.
Gaetz then requested that information be provided on whether Milgrim had asked HHS how long it will take to get a response regarding the process of descheduling of marijuana and if so, what the response was.
Gaetz further requested a copy of the letter sent by the Biden administration to the Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General that asked them to begin the descheduling process of the marijuana process.
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