"We'd be more than glad to work
with Congress if there is a desire to look at and reexamine how the drug
is scheduled, as I said there is a great degree of expertise that
exists in Congress," Holder said during a House Appropriations Committee
hearing. "It is something that ultimately Congress would have to
change, and I think that our administration would be glad to work with
Congress if such a proposal were made."
Several members of Congress have called on the administration to downgrade cannabis on its own without waiting for congressional action. Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, the attorney general has the authority to "remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule." Holder didn't indicate Friday that he would be willing to do that unilaterally.
Although there haven't been any documented cases of deaths from overdosing on marijuana, the federal government treats it as a Schedule I drug with a "high potential for abuse," along with heroin, LSD and Ecstasy.
Re-categorizing marijuana would not legalize the drug under federal law, but it could make research into marijuana's medical benefits much easier and allow marijuana businesses to take tax deductions.
Several Republican lawmakers at the hearing questioned Holder's decision to allow Colorado and Washington to legalize and regulate marijuana and to take the states' actions into consideration when prioritizing federal marijuana prosecutions. But Holder said that he was "not sure that you're going to see a huge difference" between the cases the Justice Department was bringing before and after guidance went out to U.S. attorneysattorneys on which cases to prioritize.
"We're not blazing a new trail," Holder said of the decision to prosecute only certain cases based on the department's limited resources, noting that much of marijuana law enforcement happens on the state and local levels.
Any move to reschedule marijuana would probably face resistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which Holder oversees. DEA chief Michele Leonhart said this week that the growing acceptance of marijuana only makes her agents "fight harder."
"We'd be more than glad to work with Congress if there is a desire to look at and reexamine how the drug is scheduled, as I said there is a great degree of expertise that exists in Congress," Holder said during today’s House Appropriations Committee hearing. "It is something that ultimately Congress would have to change, and I think that our administration would be glad to work with Congress if such a proposal were made."
Here is the Drug Policy Alliance’s position on rescheduling:
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Several members of Congress have called on the administration to downgrade cannabis on its own without waiting for congressional action. Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, the attorney general has the authority to "remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule." Holder didn't indicate Friday that he would be willing to do that unilaterally.
Although there haven't been any documented cases of deaths from overdosing on marijuana, the federal government treats it as a Schedule I drug with a "high potential for abuse," along with heroin, LSD and Ecstasy.
Re-categorizing marijuana would not legalize the drug under federal law, but it could make research into marijuana's medical benefits much easier and allow marijuana businesses to take tax deductions.
Several Republican lawmakers at the hearing questioned Holder's decision to allow Colorado and Washington to legalize and regulate marijuana and to take the states' actions into consideration when prioritizing federal marijuana prosecutions. But Holder said that he was "not sure that you're going to see a huge difference" between the cases the Justice Department was bringing before and after guidance went out to U.S. attorneysattorneys on which cases to prioritize.
"We're not blazing a new trail," Holder said of the decision to prosecute only certain cases based on the department's limited resources, noting that much of marijuana law enforcement happens on the state and local levels.
Any move to reschedule marijuana would probably face resistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which Holder oversees. DEA chief Michele Leonhart said this week that the growing acceptance of marijuana only makes her agents "fight harder."
"We'd be more than glad to work with Congress if there is a desire to look at and reexamine how the drug is scheduled, as I said there is a great degree of expertise that exists in Congress," Holder said during today’s House Appropriations Committee hearing. "It is something that ultimately Congress would have to change, and I think that our administration would be glad to work with Congress if such a proposal were made."
Here is the Drug Policy Alliance’s position on rescheduling:
- The current system for classifying illegal (and most legal) drugs is flawed, outdated and unscientific.
- Rescheduling would be a modest step in the right direction, possibly opening the door for limited research. Symbolically, it would be a victory for commonsense drug policy, acknowledging the weight of the scientific evidence and popular support for medical marijuana.
- However, simply moving marijuana to a less restrictive schedule would not protect existing state medical marijuana programs or change federal penalties for possessing, cultivating, and distributing marijuana. Nor would it remove all obstacles to research or force DEA and NIDA to allow research to move forward.
- Rescheduling would not prevent people from being arrested and punished for using marijuana recreationally.
- DPA believes that patients must have safe and immediate access to medical marijuana, including the ability to cultivate it in their own homes; that existing state medical marijuana programs, including those with functioning dispensaries, must be protected; that all barriers to marijuana research must be eliminated; that marijuana is of acceptable safety to be regulated more or less like alcohol; and that states like Colorado and Washington, which have decided to regulate marijuana for adult recreational use, should be allowed to do so without federal interference.
- To these ends, DPA supports the de-scheduling, or complete removal, of marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and its regulation for adult consumption in a manner similar to alcohol. De-scheduling can only occur through Congressional action.
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http://www.amazon.com/shops/studio33
Virgin Atlantic Airways
http://tinyurl.com/pjbm6r6
Luxury French Lingerie
http://tinyurl.com/o7qcz7m
From chocolate eggs to chocolate coins, give your sweet tooth a treat with our delicious products.
http://tinyurl.com/nragc9j
Astore
http://astore.amazon.com/nevinghomebas-20
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