US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Calls on DEA to Reclassify Cannabis as Schedule III

In the wake of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommending that cannabis be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to do just that.

Gillibrand announced Nov. 17 that she sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, urging her to consider rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.

“While I continue to believe that marijuana should be descheduled entirely, I am urging the DEA to, at a minimum, consider rescheduling it from Schedule I to a Schedule III substance,” Gillibrand said in a public statement. “Marijuana is simply not comparable to other Schedule I substances like heroin, LSD and MDMA. Moreover, marijuana enforcement has for decades disproportionately targeted communities of color. This means that people of color are more likely to have criminal records for marijuana possession and to face needless barriers to employment, housing and educational opportunities as a result. It is past time to end overly restrictive federal marijuana policy and I urge the DEA to do so immediately.”

In her letter, Gillibrand urged Milgram to take the HHS’ rescheduling recommendation into full consideration. She wrote that the CSA’s Schedule I classification is the most restrictive and includes substances with “no recognized medical utility and a high potential for abuse.”

“Marijuana is currently categorized as a Schedule I substance, which has severely hindered our ability to gather the necessary data to make well-informed decisions regarding its legal status,” Gillibrand wrote. “Marijuana is considered to have a lower potential for harm compared to Schedule I substances like heroin. The acute health risks and potential addiction associated with marijuana use are lower than the risks associated with substances like cocaine or heroin, with it being virtually impossible to fatally overdose on marijuana alone. And unlike cocaine, marijuana is already legal for medical use in 38 states and the District of Columbia and in 24 states for decriminalized adult use.”

By reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III substance, she wrote, it would classify it as having “accepted medical use” and pushes it closer to being a legally available prescription drug. A Schedule III classification would also encourage investment into medical cannabis research, Gillibrand said in the letter.

“Medical marijuana has been proven to effectively address chronic pain, nerve pain and post-traumatic stress disorder—among other uses,” she wrote. “Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III will foster scientific research that can help further safe and effective marijuana use and marijuana-derived therapeutic benefits.”

Gillibrand noted in the letter that she commends President Joe Biden’s administration for its “commitment to addressing the systemic and racial injustices of federal marijuana policy,” referencing Biden’s October 2022 announcement that he would pardon thousands of federal cannabis offenses and review how cannabis is scheduled under the CSA.

“Harsh penalties have deliberately stigmatized marijuana and disproportionately targeted minority communities for decades,” Gillibrand wrote. “Selective policing and racial profiling have led to higher arrest rates among people of color, particularly among Black and Brown communities, even when marijuana usage across different racial groups remains comparable. These disparities extend into our judicial system where harsher sentences disproportionately affect people of color. Criminal records for marijuana possession impose needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities, contributing to cycles of multigenerational poverty.”

Gillibrand concluded her letter by saying that the DEA should act “with great urgency” to align the agency with HHS’ recommendation to reschedule cannabis to increase medical cannabis research and rectify the “deep racial disparities” that have disproportionately harmed Black and Brown communities.

Gillibrand is not the only member of Congress calling on the DEA to rethink its cannabis policy; a group of 31 bipartisan House lawmakers sent a separate letter last month to Milgram, emphasizing the ongoing review of how cannabis is scheduled as “a necessary step in the work to end the federal government’s failed and discriminatory prohibition of cannabis.”

That letter, signed by Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Brian Mast, R-Fla., among others, calls on the DEA and other relevant agencies to “recognize the merits of descheduling and work with congressional leaders to ensure this happens.”

In addition, two coalitions for comprehensive cannabis reform, the Marijuana Justice Coalition and the Cannabis Freedom Alliance, released a Nov. 2 letter calling for Biden to support removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act entirely.