A December 2nd Deadline For Rescheduling Cannabis

A New Law Requires That HHS Delivers Its Scientific Review to Congress

Last week, the cannabis industry was abuzz from comments the Secretary of Human Health Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra made that said HHS aims to deliver to President Biden its recommendation on rescheduling of cannabis by the end of the year.

Industry leaders, analysts and investors mostly scoffed at the news after years of unfulfilled promises and few if any actual accomplishments on cannabis reform by either the Biden administration or leadership in Congress. After a brutal two-year bear market, few of the remaining investors believe anything will be done or accomplished by year end.

But as I have written before, I have a different opinion. Cannabis for the longest time has been a political plaything at the Federal level. It doesn’t generate the heat and intensity of other issues, so therefore doesn’t really help politicians get elected either way. And if something doesn’t get you elected, it doesn’t become a priority.

Now, however, I think for the first time, an elected leader has in cannabis, a very popular issue that he may need to be re-elected. President Biden will turn 81 in November, and many believe that at his age, he should not run or be re-elected. His recent fall at the Air Force graduation or recent verbal mixups in front of the press do not help counter this view. So, what issue could Biden take leadership of that would make him look young, while simultaneously be popular? The only one I can think of is cannabis.

I wrote about this last October, that I expected Biden to move much sooner than expected on cannabis and expected movement before the 2024 primaries and the HHS secretary’s comments seem to confirm my thesis.

But there is another reason I am confident that we will hear from HHS sooner than expected. It’s required by law.

I’m not sure why this hasn’t been a bigger story, but Congress passed and Biden signed into law H.R.8454, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Act last year. It was enacted on December 2, 2022. As part of this law, it states the following:

In General.--Not later than 1 year after the

date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human

Services, in coordination with the Director of the National Institutes

of Health and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit

to the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, the Committee on the

Judiciary, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee

on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on--

            (1) the potential therapeutic effects of cannabidiol or

        marijuana on serious medical conditions, including intractable

        epilepsy;

            (2) the potential effects of marijuana, including--

                    (A) the effect of increasing delta-9-

                tetrahydrocannabinol levels on the human body and

                developing adolescent brains; and

                    (B) the effect of various delta-9-

                tetrahydrocannabinol levels on cognitive abilities, such

                as those that are required to operate motor vehicles or

                other heavy equipment; and

            (3) <<NOTE: Recommendations. >>  the barriers associated

        with researching marijuana or cannabidiol in States that have

        legalized the use of such substances, which shall include--

                    (A) recommendations as to how such barriers might be

                overcome, including whether public-private partnerships

                or Federal-State research partnerships may or should be

                implemented to provide researchers with access to

                additional strains of marijuana and cannabidiol; and

                    (B) recommendations as to what safeguards must be in

                place to verify--

                          (i) the levels of tetrahydrocannabinol,

                      cannabidiol, or other cannabinoids contained in

                      products obtained from such States is accurate;

                      and

                          (ii) that such products do not contain harmful

                      or toxic components.

What does all of this mean? Well, the HHS has to submit a report by December 2nd on the medical effects of Cannabis and the potential side effects. This may not be a requirement to comeback with a scheduling recommendation, but it surely is a deadline for completing most if not all of the research/review that the agency needs to complete.

Read it yourself, here is the link: Text - H.R.8454 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress. It is near the bottom, under Title IV.

So, now we not only have the the political need for a scheduling review, the HHS secretary’s comments, but we also have in law a requirement that the HHS has to deliver to Congress its scientific review. And it is less than six months away. Stay tuned, because it is my expectation that we are about to see a lot of fireworks on the Federal front on cannabis before year end.