Booker, Other U.S. Senators Urge Feds To ‘Reschedule’ Marijuana

NEW JERSEY — Another high-profile New Jersey public official is urging the federal government to ease up their stance on marijuana by “rescheduling” it as a lower-risk drug.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and several other senators sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week in support of a federal proposal to reclassify cannabis.

Other signatories included Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Read the full letter here.

The DEA recently announced that it is considering moving cannabis from the Schedule I drug category – which includes drugs like heroin, LSD and ecstasy – to a Schedule III drug with accepted medical uses, alongside others like ketamine and anabolic steroids.

If the agency takes the leap, marijuana wouldn’t be legalized in the United States. However, the rule change would help protect the legal rights of cannabis users across the nation. It would also drastically ease existing federal regulations involving the legal cannabis industry, including in New Jersey, where a “green rush” has been booming since the state legalized weed. See Related: 5 Things You Need To Know About Marijuana Legalization In NJ

Thousands of commenters have submitted feedback in favor of the proposed rule change, including cannabis users, state regulators, advocates, health experts and public officials. It’s expected to take months before the DEA renders its final decision.

In July, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin added his voice to the mix, arguing that it would be a “common-sense” move that would deal a blow to the black market – and many of the problems that come with it. Read More: Feds Need To Lighten Up Their Stance On Weed, NJ Attorney General Says

Now, Booker – an Essex County resident – and several of his Senate colleagues are also chiming in.

“Rescheduling presents significant benefits to public health, research, business, and Americans harmed by the lasting effects of our punitive drug policies,” Booker and the other senators wrote.

“It will also bolster cannabis related businesses, many of which are owned by people criminalized for marijuana offenses, opening them up to critical investment opportunities,” they added.

The lawmakers pointed out that federal tax code under Section 208E currently prohibits deductions or credits for businesses that “traffic in controlled substances” of schedule I and II of the Controlled Substances Act.

“Though legal cannabis businesses play both medical and commercial roles in many states, they cannot claim normal business deductions for payroll, rent and advertising,” the senators continued. “Rescheduling marijuana to schedule III would allow these legal businesses to claim normal business expense deductions and would uplift both medical and recreational marijuana businesses.”

• See Related: Weed Businesses Don’t Hurt Home Values – And May Even Help, Study Says

In addition to boosting legal cannabis businesses, rescheduling the drug could also be a huge boon for medical research by creating a broader availability of “supply” for scientific studies, while allowing researchers to avoid the “stringent and costly” DEA administrative review process, the lawmakers said.

The proposed rule change is a “long overdue step” toward the end of federal cannabis prohibition – which has disproportionately harmed people of color and younger people for decades, Booker and the other senators added.

“Rescheduling is not the panacea to undoing the harms caused by decades of marijuana prohibition, but it is a step toward addressing the policies that have devastated communities across the country,” the lawmakers said.

“Cannabis should be entirely de-scheduled,” they concluded. “Yet, we recognize and appreciate DEA’s effort to address the flaws in our current marijuana policy by using its authority under the CSA and following the scientific and medical evidence to reschedule marijuana as a schedule III drug.”

• See Related: NJ Medical Marijuana User Illegally Denied Job After Drug Test: AG
• See Related: Every NJ House Democrat Votes To Decriminalize Marijuana

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