Kentucky Governor Pushes DEA To Reschedule Marijuana, Saying It’s An “Alternative To Deadly Opioids’

The governor of Kentucky has added his voice to the chorus of people urging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to follow through on the Biden administration’s plan to reschedule marijuana.

Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Wednesday submitted a public comment on the proposed rule, which would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). There are currently more than 31,000 comments submitted on the proposal, with the deadline to weigh in coming up on Monday.

“As Governor, my job is to move our state forward,” Beshear said, referencing his state’s medical cannabis legalization policy that he signed into law. “Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is a significant, common-sense step forward for all Kentuckians, especially those with significant medical conditions.”

He added that the reclassification will have “substantial and meaningful impacts” on patients, communities, businesses and research.

While he argued that the reform would provide an “alternative to deadly opioids,” that’s not necessarily the case. As a Schedule III drug, marijuana would still be federally illegal unless the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it as a medicine, which is unlikely for a botanical substance.

Beshear added that rescheduling will promote “fair markets” for cannabis, as it will allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions that they’ve been barred from under an Internal Revenue Service code known as 280E. The policy change would also mean “real opportunities for research on marijuana” since certain barriers imposed on studying Schedule I drugs would be lifted.

Today Gov. Beshear sent a letter to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, expressing his support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation that the DEA ease restrictions on marijuana.

Read More: https://t.co/jJ0g4zJvCH pic.twitter.com/lLFkbm2CNU

— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) July 17, 2024

“As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is currently in the same classification as heroin and LSD as having ‘no current accepted medical use,’” the letter says. “It places marijuana as more dangerous than Schedule II drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, methamphetamine and Vicodin.”

“But the jury is no longer out on marijuana: It has medical uses and is currently being used for medical purposes,” Beshear said in the letter. “The recognition is overwhelming—and bipartisan. For example, I signed a medical marijuana law that passed with support from Republican legislative supermajorities and a Democratic Governor.”

He also emphasized that while tens of thousands of Americans are dying from opioid overdoses each year, Kentucky has experienced “no marijuana overdose deaths.”

“Thankfully, a well-regulated medical marijuana market provides an alternative to opioids. Our sister states have shown that medical marijuana programs are safe. With age-restrictions, rigorous testing standards, packing and labeling requirements, and advertising restrictions, state medical marijuana markets have provided safe, effective medical products to millions of Americans,” the governor said. “We look forward to seeing how safe medical marijuana products will reduce the suffering and improve the lives of tens of thousands of Kentuckians when our Program launches in 2025.”

The comment was submitted about four months after Beshear participate in a roundtable event at the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris, where she touted the president’s mass marijuana pardons and scheduling directive that led to the reclassification proposal.

The governor promoted his work with the administration on cannabis reform in an interview earlier this month when asked about the possibility that he and Harris could run together as a ticket in November if President Joe Biden left the race.

In addition to signing a medical marijuana legalization bill, Beshear has also taken executive action to legally protect patients who possess medical cannabis purchased at out-of-state licensed retailers by exercising his unilateral authority to grant pardons to anyone who meets certain criteria.

After Biden issued his first pardon proclamation in October 2022, Beshear said he was “actively considering” possible marijuana clemency actions the state could take and encouraged people to petition for relief in the interim. In 2021, he also talked about his desire to let Kentucky farmers grow and sell recreational cannabis across state lines.

Meanwhile, in contrast to Beshear, 25 Republican members of Congress sent a public comment letter last week opposing the Biden administration’s planned rescheduling of marijuana, alleging the government’s recommendation was based on politics rather than science.

Also this month, a GOP-led House committee passed a funding bill that would block DOJ from using its funds to reschedule or deschedule cannabis.

In a report attached to separate legislation, the House Appropriations Committee also called on the Biden administration to account for how it arrived at the decision to reschedule marijuana, while additionally expressing concerns about cannabis-impaired driving and the market for intoxicating hemp-based cannabinoids.

GOP senators have separately tried to block the administration from rescheduling cannabis as part of a standalone bill filed last September, but that proposal has not received a hearing or vote.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.