Urging the DEA to De-List Marijuana Under the Controlled Substances Act
Dear Friend, This week, while working in the District after the Independence Day holiday, I had an article published in The Hill newspaper urging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to go beyond rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, but to de-list it entirely, and remove its outdated criminal penalties. I also met with retiring Metropolitan Inter-Fath Association President and CEO Sally Heinz, received an update from officials at West Cancer Center and discussed their priorities, thanked my District Office interns for their service, and offered a Bill Day cartoon, a Friday Flashback and a weekly health tip. Keep reading and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens. Urging the DEA to De-List Marijuana Under the Controlled Substances Act Meeting with Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association Leaders Getting an Update from West Cancer Foundation Officials Thanking My District Office Interns Urging the DEA to De-List Marijuana Under Controlled Substances Act The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is holding three weeks of administrative hearings on rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act in Arlington, Virginia, this month. I wrote an op-ed for The Hill newspaper, published Monday, suggesting that de-listing marijuana, rather than rescheduling it from Schedule I to Schedule III, would be a better option. My office’s 2025-2026 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellow, who has a Ph.D. in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology, has been monitoring the hearings, and we are hoping to see regulations banning most research into marijuana loosened. I’ll keep you apprised as developments occur. Meeting with Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association Leaders On Wednesday, I met in my Memphis office with retiring Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) President and CEO Sally Heinz and Arnette Macklin, its Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer. They wanted to have their picture taken with me and to thank me with a framed certificate of appreciation for my 20 years of support for senior citizens, families and their Christmas meals program. The MIFA board showed its appreciation for Sally’s service with the Sally Jones Heinz Kitchen Sink Fund, making her permanent impact on our community, through support for the unanticipated needs and financial challenges of non-profits, a reality. I wish her well in retirement and commend MIFA for the life-changing work it does. Getting an Update from West Cancer Foundation Officials Also Wednesday, I met with Leighanne Soden, the President of West Cancer Foundation, Chassia Taylor, Director of Community Engagement, and Stephanie Douglas, Vice President for Development, to receive their certificate of appreciation for my “decades of public service to Memphis and (my) commitment to equity, access and improving the lives of Memphians.” They also provided an update on their life-saving work serving underserved, uninsured and under-insured individuals in Memphis, reaching 24,000 people with free cancer services in the past 14 years. They told me about what they are doing to help people with their transportation to cancer treatments and getting people screened for colorectal, breast, prostate and other cancers. The foundation and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences College of Nursing are holding a Senior Health Fair with cancer screenings at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar Avenue (38111) on Friday, July 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thanking My District Office Interns I have had more than 400 extremely talented interns over nearly 20 years as a Member of Congress. The classes of bright students working in my offices in Memphis and D.C. at the moment are no exception. It’s maybe the most talented class I’ve seen in Memphis. On Wednesday, I thanked my District Office interns for their service this summer. They include Faith Egedegbe of Vanderbilt, Finnegan Murphy of U.T.-Knoxville, Kate Metcalf of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Rose Coonin and Manushri Kalasikam, both of George Washington University, and Sir James Ford (not pictured) of Tennessee State University. Because of their evident dedication to public service, I know they will go on to careers – and lives – improving their communities and our nation. I thank them all for their service. A Bill Day Cartoon -- "Scapegoat" This is me with my late District Director Marzie Thomas and District Office staffer Linda (Yan) Archer when I gave them a tour of the U.S. Capitol in 2009. Marzie, who passed in June last year, began with my District office in 2007 after years with The Tri-State Defender. I was blessed to have her in my office and, even more so, in my life. She was just a jewel. Ticks are a reality in our region, particularly in the summertime. The presence of once-rare tick species in Tennessee has been in the news and precautions against them, or the best responses to a bite, are contained in this guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Since the start of Trump’s second term, it’s been widely reported that he has been exploiting the presidency for financial gain, but the story needed a real number and real victims. Now it has both — $2.2 billion in total gains for Trump and at least $3.81 billion in losses for his investors. That’s a bumper sticker. Trump famously boasted that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and his supporters would still be with him. Will they also stick with him when he fleeces them?” – The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in “Trump Is Fleecing Everyone” on Wednesday As always, I remain… Sincerely,
Steve Cohen
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