Politics
Trump Administration Moves To Cancel Pending Marijuana And Hemp Rules
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced it’s withdrawing dozens of proposed rules—including one to implement a law expanding marijuana research and another on hemp analytic testing that curiously shares the same identifier number as hearings for a cannabis rescheduling proposal that President Donald Trump said he’d be deciding on imminently.
The Justice Department said in a notice set to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday that the cancellation of the proposed rules is “part of the Federal Government’s deregulatory initiative and because of ongoing assessments of agency needs, priorities, and objectives.”
But there’s significant uncertainty about the impact of the cannabis-related measures that DOJ is set to withdraw.
It’s unclear, for example, how procedurally the department could back away from implementing the bipartisan Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act that Congress passed and former President Joe Biden signed into law in late 2022.
A description for the rule states that, pursuant to the law, DEA intended to modify regulations “related to the new application process and submission of supporting materials by electronic means only, through the Diversion Control Division secure online portal, for those who are manufacturing marijuana or cannabidiol for medical research and those who are conducting medical marijuana and cannabidiol research.”
While some lawmakers previously expressed disappointment with the implementation of the law, it’s unclear why DEA would back away from its proposal to facilitate the streamlined research process for cannabis.
But another point of confusion concerns DOJ’s proposed withdrawal of a rule titled “Analytical Labs and Hemp.” That rule, according to the abstract, would “waive registration requirements for analytical labs that perform chemical analysis solely on hemp samples produced pursuant to an approved USDA Hemp Production plan.”
Adding to the uncertainty, the Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) for that rule has also been used for hearings on separate proposed rule to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Trump said late last month that he’d be making a decision on that reform within weeks.
Other pending rulemaking actions being cancelled by DOJ concern the pardon process, destruction of controlled substances and Bureau of Prisons policies.
Marijuana Moment reached out to the White House, Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for clarification, but officials were not immediately available.
The development adds to speculation about the fate of the rescheduling proposal, which was initiated under the Biden administration. And it comes amid increasingly vocal competing voices in the president’s circle around the issue.
For example, Ben Carson, Trump’s former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), said on Monday that a move to reschedule marijuana would play into plots to “destroy this country.”
The Fox Business interview came about a week after the former HUD secretary published an op-ed where he also spoke out against the marijuana rescheduling proposal.
Meanwhile, Trump’s former press secretary Sean Spicer and his long-time advisor Roger Stone recently traded diverging takes on the prospect of the administration moving forward on marijuana rescheduling.
Stone separately made the case for reform in an op-ed for Marijuana Moment last month.
Retired boxer Mike Tyson, meanwhile, recently spoke about the need for federal marijuana rescheduling on a podcast hosted by the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller—saying he’s expecting “good news” on the issue soon.
In June, the retired boxer also took to Fox News and delivered a message to the president, urging him to reschedule, and ultimately legalize, marijuana.
That interview came days after Tyson led a letter alongside other professional athletes and celebrities promoting cannabis reform that was sent to Trump, calling for rescheduling marijuana, expanding clemency and allowing licensed cannabis businesses to access the banking system.
Meanwhile, Trump’s former senior advisor Kellyanne Conway has been the “biggest champion” of marijuana rescheduling within the president’s “inner circle,” a GOP congressman recently told Marijuana Moment.
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