Press Releases
Congressman Sessions Leads Bicameral Initiative to Preserve Marijuana's Schedule I Drug Status
September 13, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Senator James Lankford (R-OK) spearheaded a bicameral letter sent to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), imploring the agency to maintain marijuana's Schedule I status under federal law.
The legislators were joined by a coalition of lawmakers from both the Senate and the House, including Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Ted Budd (R-NC), along with Representatives Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
“Any effort to reschedule marijuana should be based on proven facts and science—not popular opinion, changes in state laws, or the preferred policy of an Administration…It is irresponsible for Health and Human Services (HHS) to recommend that marijuana be removed from Schedule I. It would also be irresponsible for DEA to act on this recommendation. Our country relies on DEA to enforce our nation’s drug laws. We ask you to uphold your mission by rejecting any effort to remove marijuana from Schedule I,” the Members wrote.
The letter was sent following a review by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which subsequently released its findings on the current federal scheduling of marijuana to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This was done as part of the Biden administration's efforts to potentially change the legal status of marijuana in the United States.
The legislators were joined by a coalition of lawmakers from both the Senate and the House, including Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Ted Budd (R-NC), along with Representatives Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
“Any effort to reschedule marijuana should be based on proven facts and science—not popular opinion, changes in state laws, or the preferred policy of an Administration…It is irresponsible for Health and Human Services (HHS) to recommend that marijuana be removed from Schedule I. It would also be irresponsible for DEA to act on this recommendation. Our country relies on DEA to enforce our nation’s drug laws. We ask you to uphold your mission by rejecting any effort to remove marijuana from Schedule I,” the Members wrote.
The letter was sent following a review by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which subsequently released its findings on the current federal scheduling of marijuana to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This was done as part of the Biden administration's efforts to potentially change the legal status of marijuana in the United States.
