American Trade Association for Cannabis & Hemp Responds to HHS Recommendation for Cannabis to be Reclassified as a Schedule III Drug under the Controlled Substances Act
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the American Trade Association of Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH), released the following statement in response to the announcement that a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services called for cannabis to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Assistant HHS Secretary for Health Rachel Levine said in the letter addressed to the Drug Enforcement Agency that her recommendation was based on a Food and Drug Administration review of the classification of cannabis.
“Today, the Health and Human Services made a historic recommendation to remove marijuana from Schedule I and place it in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Such a move, if accepted, will be an incredibly important and necessary first step by the United States to undo over 50 years of injustice by the federal government through its treatment of marijuana and those who consume it. This is an important part of the criminal justice relief promised by President Biden, and this change would also remove unfair tax burdens on state-licensed marijuana businesses and allow for a regulated market to compete and defeat the illicit market.
“Since 1971, marijuana has been miscategorized as a Schedule I controlled substance, unfairly putting countless people in jail, preventing meaningful regulation at the federal level, and frustrating research into its medical benefits. President Biden initiated a government process to reconsider that categorization, recognizing that sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives, and created too much harm, particularly in light of state laws that regulate cannabis.
“ATACH applauds the work of Admiral Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, a trailblazer who successfully guided the implementation of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program, and is once again in the process of making history.
“Those with criminal records related to marijuana create significant barriers to jobs, housing, and educational opportunities, and these impacts from the war on marijuana have been disproportionately higher among communities of color. It is time to stop jailing so many of our citizens for a substance that many states successfully tax and regulate.
“We urge the Drug Enforcement Administration to accept the FDA’s recommendation and help to meet the president’s goals of a fairer system without delay.”
— Michael Bronstein, President of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp
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ATACH: The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH) is the leading United States 501(c)(6) cannabis industry trade organization promoting the expansion and protection of legal sales of cannabis and hemp for industrial, medical, and adult use.
