Congressman Cohen Welcomes Rescheduling of Medical Marijuana
More needs to be done to deschedule cannabis for recreational use
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the leading Congressional advocate for decriminalizing marijuana, today welcomed the U.S. Department of Justice decision to loosen restrictions on medical marijuana by rescheduling state-licensed medical marijuana products to Schedule III. But he said more needs to be done to remove recreational use of marijuana from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act in the following statement:
“Today’s DOJ decision is a small step in the right direction but is limited in its application since it doesn’t affect recreational marijuana possession under federal criminal law, nor remove the disproportionately harsh life-altering criminal penalties associated with it. Those include not qualifying for federal nutrition assistance and restrictions on federal housing. As a longtime advocate for removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, I will continue to work to get marijuana reclassified so that the lives upended by misguided federal prosecutions can be avoided.”
Congressman Cohen held a press conference on Monday (4/20) with individuals formerly incarcerated in Federal Prison for marijuana offenses alongside Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), and Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), and advocates for decriminalizing and declassifying cannabis at the federal level. There he reiterated his call for Trump to expedite the descheduling of cannabis. Later, he participated in a policy briefing with men incarcerated for marijuana possession who had their sentences commuted. There are still 3,000 federal prisoners serving time for marijuana offenses, and I am heading up a letter to Trump and his pardons czar Alice Marie Johnson seeking the release of those sentenced for non-violent marijuana offenses – a group less dangerous than the January 6 insurrectionists he pardoned on his first day back in office.
On March 27, Congressman Cohen wrote to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Terrance Cole seeking clarity on how and when President Trump’s demand that marijuana be rescheduled was being implemented. See that letter here.
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