Anne Milgram

Will Merrick Garland Help Or Hinder Marijuana Rescheduling

Published

6 months ago

June 12, 2024

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Attorney General Merrick Garland upended the residential real estate industry, so what will he do to the budding cannabis market.

In the last election, then candidate Biden promised to help the cannabis industry. It took a while and only as he runs for reelection has the administration made any significant progress. Just late month, the DEA started the feedback process to reschedule marijuana. It would be a boon to the struggling industry, a benefit to patients, and a big help to veterans with PTSD. But, as the US Attorney General, will Merrick Garland help or hinder marijuana rescheduling?

Garland has a reputation for collegiality and meticulous legal reasoning. He has spent most of time in courts deals with regulatory issues which gives him a strong base to understand how rules and regulations can have a powerful impact on day to day business. He is highly circumspect and grasps each how rulings can make significant changes. Garland has the power to reschedule marijuana, and, considering the agencies recommending it be done, it would be unprecedented for him not to.

Garland’s ruling on residential real estate upended the industry.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) falls directly under Garland…and they pushed back on Health and Human Services (HHS) recommendation to reschedule. In its decision, HHS acknowledged cannabis has medical benefits. It also noted the risks to the public health posed by marijuana are low compared to other drugs of abuse,” such as heroin (Schedule I), cocaine (Schedule II), benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax (Schedule IV), and alcohol (unscheduled). Although “abuse of marijuana produces clear evidence of harmful consequences, including substance use disorder,” HHS said, they are “less common and less harmful” than the negative consequences associated with other drugs. It concluded that “the vast majority of individuals who use marijuana are doing so in a manner that does not lead to dangerous outcomes to themselves or others.

But the DEA was reluctant and Garland used his authority to move the process forward. In a wonky move, The proposed rule was posted by the DEA, and it has a DEA docket number, but it is signed by Garland rather than DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. This clearly shows the Attorney General is having a larger interest than leaving it to just the DEA.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently released most major crimes are on the decline in 2024, which follows the trend from 2023. On of the reason used to stop marijuana legalization is the potential increase in crime, which the FBI proven isn’t true. In addition, the alcohol and pharmaceutical industries are being supportive of the change.

As a wonk, Garland seems to understand modern marijuana is on a pathway of acceptance. While not a cheerleader, he seems in respect the recommendations, the science and the process.

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AARP

Lawsuit Says DEA Acting In Bad Faith Over Marijuana

Published

2 weeks ago

November 21, 2024

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It has been clear the DEA is slow to change for cannabis…but have they done something shady?

It has been clear Anne Milgram, the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), is no fan of cannabis and is not pleased with the push to reschedule. Now a lawsuit says DEA acting in bad faith over marijuana. David Heldreth, CEO of psychedelic research firm Panacea Plant Sciences, claims the DEA’s recent actions violate federal law and constitutional principles. Filed in filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, names the Department of Justice, Attorney General Merrick Garland, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and DEA Judge John J. Mulrooney II as defendants. So what’s going on?

It is no secret, the current President isn’t a fan of cannabis and waited 3 years to fulfill his 2020 promise to help the industry. The timing allowed his administration to pass the decision to the next president. DEA head Milgram has been reluctant about the issue despite recommendation from Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians. All of those agencies recommended the change due to clear research showing the medical benefits of cannabis, especially with cancer, chronic pain, PTSD, and inflammation. For the DEA not to follow goes against all precedent.

Heldreth’s alleges legal violations in the DEA’s rulemaking process. He contends the agency failed to consult Native American tribes despite ignificant impact rescheduling marijuana would have on tribal law enforcement and health services. Additionally, Heldreth challenges the constitutionality of the DEA’s Administrative Law Judges, arguing their appointment by the DEA administrator violates Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

Heldreth is the latest in complaints as a Veteran’s organization is claiming they have been blocked from the hearings, despite the Veteran’s administration working with the industry to figure out a pathway for veterans with PTSD.

Milgam has been obstructive to the late in term admisntration’s move, working to stop the process. After the announcement to reschedule, Anne Milgram made the unusual request of a “off the record/no notes meeting” to top deputies summoned in March for what she called the “Marijuana Meeting”. What followed with a request to the Department of Justice (DOJ) which would slow the process if not stop it. The DOJ pushed back on the request.

With millions of patients using medical marijuana, including veterans, plus thousands of mom and pop businesses, Milgram’s actions are murky. Science has changed the direction and it seems the DEA is the only agency standing against the movement.

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