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.

House Votes To Expand Marijuana Waivers For Military Recruits Who Test
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The post Trump Administration Moves To Cancel Pending Marijuana And Hemp
Rules appeared first on Marijuana Moment.