Anti-Marijuana Physician Who Criticized Rescheduling...

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is adding to
its team a medical professional who has linked marijuana use to suicide,
advocated against a Florida legalization measure and criticized health
agencies’ move to reschedule cannabis.

She has also said it is an “insult” to refer to cannabis as “medical.”

Roneet Lev—an emergency medicine and addition physician who previously
served as chief medical officer at ONDCP under the first Trump
administration—announced on Monday that she’ll be rejoining the office for
the chance to “save lives on a much bigger scale.”

While she didn’t mention marijuana in the announcement on her podcast “High
Truths on Drugs and Addiction,” Lev has previously spoken extensively about
her issues with cannabis—describing it as an understated public health risk
and arguing that commercial interests are the driving force behind the
legalization movement.

In one episode of her podcast from June 2024, she dedicated over an hour to
a discussion with prohibitionist advocates about the marijuana rescheduling
process that was initiated under the Biden administration, making clear she
strongly disagrees with the top federal health agency’s recommendation to
move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances
Act (CSA).

She said that people who are accepting the scientific findings that led to
the recommendation,”including some in the medical community,” are “drinking
that same Kool Aid again” with marijuana as they did with prescription
opioids. And she claimed that the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) produced a flawed report on cannabis, with mistakes in “like
every single sentence.”

“When it comes to marijuana, the harms are right in front of our eyes—but
we ignore the data and follow the industry talking points just like we did
in the oxycontin days,” Lev said during the segment, which featured
prominent prohibitionists such as Bertha Madras, who also previously served
as an ONDCP official.

The revised review process that HHS relied on to reach its Schedule III
determination for marijuana posts a “threat to the entire way of approving
medications and to the medical community at large,” Lev said, adding that
her primary contention is the idea that cannabis possesses medical value.

Cannabis is “a plant with 500 different chemicals—60 different
cannabinoids—many of which have not been studied, and that includes toxins
and carcinogens and other things,” she said.

“I really feel sorry for the public—not just for marijuana—because if you
have a 90-page document from the Health and Human Services saying, ‘this is
medicine, this is safe, this is monitored’ and all the things that we see
in this document, they’re false to us physicians and scientists who review
this material,” Lev said. “None of the science used the high-potency
products. There was no consideration to the severe mental health impacts.”

“But that’s just for marijuana. What is the public supposed to think when
it comes to vaccines or COVID or any other public health,” she said. “I
mean, there’s a loss of trust in medicine because of this process for
politics and for money.”

She also cast doubts on the idea that the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA) supported HHS’s findings, as was expressed in a letter attached to
the federal rescheduling recommendation. Lev said she personally knows
people at NIDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who oppose the rescheduling
proposal.

Further, she disputed the claim that moving marijuana to Schedule III would
increase research opportunities for the plant and its constituents, saying
“that’s not true.”

“I don’t have hope that, if this is [rescheduled], it’ll be better
regulated, because we could look at all the states now that have
quote-unquote medical cannabis, and they’re run by the cannabis
industry—not by independent public health people,” Lev claimed. “And we
know it’s not working, because we see all the pediatric poisoning and
emergency department visits and older people who are poisoned, and that
those numbers are going exponentially high. And so we’ve seen that failed
process.”

“I think the public has lost confidence in medicine and public health after
COVID and all the vaccines—and with this, we’re going to have laws that
further deteriorate public health credibility, and this is an example of
that,” she said, adding that it also poses an “international threat and
weakness of the United States not following international laws.”

That latter comment referenced potential violations of obligations on drug
scheduling under United Nations treaties to which the U.S. is a party that
some claim mandate the country keep cannabis in either Schedule I or
Schedule II.

“The U.S. will be in conflict with international law. That makes things
messy,” Lev said earlier in the episode. “We have the right to withdraw
from the international treaty, but then if we don’t want to follow
international law, how can we expect China and Mexico to follow the law and
stop pushing fentanyl on the United States? If the U.S. withdraws from
international drug treaties, how does that affect other international
treaties like the ones for, say, nuclear weapons?”

On another episode of the podcast that was released in October 2024, Lev
took on Amendment 3, a 2024 Florida ballot initiative that sought to
legalize adult-use cannabis and that received an endorsement from President
Donald Trump while he was campaigning. The measure ultimately failed to
meet a steep 60 percent threshold for passage.

Despite Trump’s public endorsement, Lev said she wondered if the
then-candidate “really read the amendment or really understands the impact
of it.” And she said she wished she could have “two minutes with President
Trump, because I feel like I could convince him on that.”

Now as she returns to ONDCP, Lev might have the opportunity to try—though
Trump has been notably silent on the issue since taking office for his
second term so his current views remain unclear.

Marijuana Moment reached out to the White House and Lev for comment on the
apparent policy disconnect between Trump and the incoming ONDCP official,
but representatives did not respond by the time of publication.

In the episode, Lev also dismissed the notion that legalization is smart,
quipping that the campaign behind the Florida initiative—Smart & Safe
Florida—is a misnomer and “it seems like you can’t always go by the names
of these organizations.”

“We need to learn from history,” she said. “And would we want big tobacco
to be in charge of the rules and marketing and nicotine potency? Would we
want Purdue Pharma to be in charge of opioid overprescribing?” And if not,
why are we allowing big marijuana to control the rules and regulations on
public health?”

Separately, during a presentation in Missouri last year, Lev reportedly said
that “it’s an insult to our profession” to call marijuana “medical.”

In 2018, Lev attended an event hosted by prohibitionist group Smart
Approaches to Marijuana, tweeting a photo of herself with the group’s
president, Kevin Sabet, along with the phrase “Marijuana Death Diaries.”

@KevinSabet @learnaboutsam Marijuana Death Diaries- CDC must be part of
public health crisis pic.twitter.com/QvZpsdwFe5

— Roneet Lev (@roneetlev) April 6, 2018

Other posts she made from the event said advocates “need to get message out
about marijuana public health crisis” and that “marijuana victims” speaking
there told “heart breaking stories.”

In 2020 she quote-tweeted a post from Sabet about a teen whose parents say
he died by suicide after taking up cannabis use, adding, “marijuana hijacks
your brain.”

In her announcement about rejoining ONDCP on Monday, Lev also gave a hat
tip to the office’s incoming director, Sara Carter, despite the two
seemingly departing on the question of the medical efficacy of marijuana.

Carter, unlike Lev, has called medical marijuana a “fantastic” treatment
option for seriously ill patients and said she doesn’t have a “problem”
with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.

However, under longstanding federal statute, the drug czar is prohibited
from endorsing the legalization of Schedule I drugs in the CSA, including
marijuana.

On social media, Lev has posted extensively about cannabis laws and
science, making repeated suggestions tying marijuana use to mental and
physical health conditions such as schizophrenia, suicide risk, lung issues
and more.

Opinion: Like Tobacco, Cannabis Should Include a Warning Label – Especially
for Suicide Risk – Times of San Diego https://t.co/7m5NQUyCLk

— Roneet Lev (@roneetlev) April 6, 2022

Trump, for his part, has previously expressed support for medical cannabis,
as well as rescheduling of marijuana under federal law.

Meanwhile, the Senate is poised to take an initial step toward confirming
Trump’s pick to lead DEA on Monday—a development that many cannabis
industry observers believe is necessary for the stalled marijuana
rescheduling process to proceed.

Terrance Cole was selected to serve as administrator of DEA, but the agency
during Trump’s second term has so far been run by interim leaders.

Notably, while Cole has said that examining the rescheduling proposal would
be “one of my first priorities” if he’s confirmed for the role, he has
refused to say what he wants the result to be and has in the past made
comments expressing concerns about the health effects of cannabis.

In May, a Senate committee advanced the nomination of Cole to become DEA
administrator amid the ongoing review of the marijuana rescheduling
proposal that he has so far refused to commit to enacting.

Cole—who has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and
linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth—said in response to
senators’ written questions that he would “give the matter careful
consideration after consulting with appropriate personnel within the Drug
Enforcement Administration, familiarizing myself with the current status of
the regulatory process, and reviewing all relevant information.”

Meanwhile, last week DEA again notified an agency judge that the marijuana
rescheduling process remains stalled under the Trump administration.

It’s been six months since DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John
Mulrooney temporarily paused hearings on a proposal to move cannabis from
Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that was
initiated under the Biden administration. And in a joint report to the
judge submitted on Monday, DEA attorneys and rescheduling proponents said
they’re still at an impasse.

For the time being, any action on the proposed rule to reschedule marijuana
is evidently contingent on DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy. More
likely, according to some, is that it will not move forward until a
permanent DEA administration is confirmed.

Murphy’s appointment as acting administrator wasn’t widely publicized, but
he’s replaced Derek Maltz—who subscribes to the “gateway drug” theory for
marijuana—in the role.

DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney initially agreed to delay
the rescheduling proceedings after several pro-reform parties requested a
leave to file an interlocutory appeal amid allegations that certain DEA
officials conspired with anti-rescheduling witnesses who were selected for
the hearing.

Originally, hearings on the proposed rescheduling rule were set to commence
on January 21, but those were cancelled when Mulrooney granted the appeal
motion.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

Meanwhile, two GOP senators introduced a bill in February that would
continue to block marijuana businesses from taking federal tax deductions
under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code 280E—even if it’s ultimately
rescheduled.

Beyond the hearing delays, another complicating factor is the change in
leadership at DEA under the Trump administration.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. was previously vocal about his support for legalizing cannabis,
as well as psychedelics therapy. But during his Senate confirmation process
in February, he said that he would defer to DEA on marijuana rescheduling in
his new role.

Separately, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was reportedly photographed
reviewing a document that appears to be a draft contract to provide
services—including “administration-related guidance”—to a firm affiliated
with the major marijuana company Trulieve. The visible portion of the
document describes a lucrative bonus if a certain “matter resolves,” with
an “additional ‘Super Success Fee’” for other “exclusive policy remedies.”

Last month, the former congressman reiterated his own support for
rescheduling cannabis—suggesting in an interview with a Florida Republican
lawmaker that the GOP could win more of the youth vote by embracing
marijuana reform.

Gaetz also said last month that Trump’s endorsement of a Schedule III
reclassification was essentially an attempt to shore up support among young
voters rather than a sincere reflection of his personal views about
cannabis.

A survey conducted by a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump that was
released in April found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of
cannabis reforms, including rescheduling. And, notably, they’re even more
supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal
interference compared to the average voter.

Meanwhile, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to
run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation
hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana
policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to
legalize medical cannabis.

Amid the stalled marijuana rescheduling process that’s carried over from
the last presidential administration, congressional researchers recently
reiterated that lawmakers could enact the reform themselves with “greater
speed and flexibility” if they so choose, while potentially avoiding
judicial challenges.

Meanwhile, a newly formed coalition of professional athletes and
entertainers, led by retired boxer Mike Tyson, sent a letter to Trump on
Friday—thanking him for past clemency actions while emphasizing the
opportunity he has to best former President Joe Biden by rescheduling
marijuana, expanding pardons and freeing up banking services for licensed
cannabis businesses.

*Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.*

The post Anti-Marijuana Physician Who Criticized Rescheduling Proposal
Joins Trump White House’s Drug Office appeared first on Marijuana Moment.