The public comment period for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) proposed marijuana rescheduling rules recently ended, and now the agency will analyze the responses, marking the first time they are considering public opinions on cannabis. Approximately 43,000 comments were submitted by individuals, researchers and organizations, making it the highest number of responses the DEA has ever received for a proposed regulation change.
The drug markets and legal regulation director at the Drug Policy Alliance, Cat Packer, highlighted that the huge response demonstrates the public’s great interest in cannabis legalization in the United States.
People used this opportunity to share their opinions and personal experiences on marijuana usage and legalization, in addition to talking about the proposed policy. Some raised worries that minors could be harmed by cannabis rescheduling or that it acts as a gateway drug. On the other hand, many people talked about their positive experiences and mentioned how cannabis helped with ailments including autism, anxiety and seizures.
According to a preliminary review, the majority of commenters felt that rescheduling was insufficient and demanded larger measures toward federal legalization. The DEA’s proposal aims to reclassify marijuana from Schedule 1 to 3, which would recognize it as a medication eligible for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), though it would remain federally illegal in most situations.
Packer drew attention to the fact that the discrepancy between federal and state laws is not resolved by rescheduling. Moreover, it doesn’t address the past racial injustices associated with the criminalization of cannabis or the racial inequities that followed.
Packer’s viewpoint is reflected in the majority of responses, many of which call for complete legalization. After doing a keyword analysis on the comments, the Drug Policy Alliance discovered that 59% of respondents wanted cannabis to be treated the same as tobacco or alcohol and completely descheduled, or decriminalized.
The comments were also examined by Headset, a marijuana data platform, utilizing the most recent iteration of OpenAI’s language model. An estimated 57% of comments supported descheduling cannabis, while 35% supported rescheduling and 8% wanted marijuana to stay classified as a Schedule 1 drug, according to the analysis. These findings are consistent with a Pew study that found 32% of Americans think cannabis should only be allowed for medical use, while 57% of Americans say it should be allowed for both recreational and medical usage.
The AI analysis provided additional insights, such as a pattern where opposition to medical cannabis came in waves of form letters, whereas support for legalization appeared more organically. Packer hypothesized that those making comments would be swayed by President Joseph Biden’s prior remarks regarding the legalization of cannabis, particularly his pledge to decriminalize it during the 2020 campaign.
The next steps in the process are uncertain as the DEA navigates this unprecedented situation. CEO and cofounder of the National Cannabis Industry Association, Aaron Smith, stated that although he sees rescheduling as a step in the right direction and hopes it happens before year’s end, he understands that the DEA is unlikely to completely deschedule cannabis based only on public sentiment.
Packer, meanwhile, had doubts regarding the schedule, speculating that several circumstances would cause the procedure to be postponed until after the next presidential election or possibly until the conclusion of Biden’s term. In addition, the DEA could be forced to postpone its decision indefinitely if it is sued or has a public hearing. Packer stressed that federally criminalizing marijuana will still have negative consequences, even if the rescheduling goes on.
Smith also questioned how the DEA would handle the relatively low support for rescheduling alone. She noted that if the DEA proceeds with making cannabis a Schedule 3 substance, only 35% of those who commented would be satisfied, potentially leaving a significant portion of the public disappointed.
Stakeholders such as Verano Holdings Corp. (CSE: VRNO) (OTCQX: VRNOF) will be waiting to see how this rescheduling pans out and when the final rule is published.
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