A Note by Elsie Layman
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On January 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a review addressed to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that recommended marijuana (Cannabis sativa L.) be rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act.[1] The unredacted recommendation was released as a result of the effort of Matthew Zorn, who filed a Freedom of Information Act complaint against HHS in September 2023.[2] Zorn announced the recommendation would be released on January 11, 2024 on his blog, writing: “I win . . . Impossible just takes a few weeks.”[3] The release of this recommendation is a win not only for Zorn and people who enjoy the drug recreationally, but for the U.S. cannabis market, which was valued at $13.2 billion in 2022.[4]
[1] Letter from Rachel Levine M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Public Health Service, to Anne Milgram, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice (Aug. 29, 2023) (on file with the Department of Health and Human Services). Under 21 U.S.C. § 811, the Attorney General must request the Secretary provide a scientific and medical evaluation and their recommendation as to whether “a drug or other substance should be so controlled or removed as a controlled substance” before the Attorney General may transfer between or remove a controlled substance from its schedule.
[2] Compl. at 6, Zorn v. United States Health & Human Services, No. 1:23-CV-02894 (D.D.C. Sept. 29, 2023).
[3] Matthew Zorn, Update on HHS FOIA Litigation, On Drugs (Jan. 11, 2024), https://ondrugs.substack.com/p/update-on-hhs-foia-litigation.
[4] U.S. Cannabis Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By End-use (Medical, Recreational, Industrial), By Source (Marijuana, Hemp), By Derivative (CBD, THC), And Segment Forecasts, 2023 – 2030, Grand View Rsch. (2022), https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/north-america-legal-marijuana-market.