No, President Biden cannot legalize or move weed, even with an executive order

Interesting release this week from a group called the Congressional Research Service on whether President Biden can legalize marijuana all by himself, or at least move it all by himself, so de facto legalizing it if you’re familiar with the industry. While many believe that President Biden can legalize marijuana with the wipe of a pen, if he wants to, it just doesn’t. Could he make a call and have it postponed as some of the cannabis industry’s leading leaders have suggested, don’t be quick to say, the CRS Sidebar paper says.

The problem arises from the CSA, or Controlled Substance Act, which lists cannabis as a List 1 narcotic. List 1 narcotics are not intended to have any medicinal purpose or benefit, which has long been the main topic of conversation about the removal of medical marijuana from List 1 of the list in the CSA. Cannabis certainly has medicinal benefits as more and more research is published every week.

As the CRS Report on Legalization Says:

The debate over whether the president can legalize or decriminalize marijuana begs the question of what it means to “legalize” or “decriminalize” a List I controlled substance. “Legalization” of marijuana could mean moving the substance from List I to another list of the CSA so that the manufacture, distribution and possession of marijuana for medical purposes is legal according to the registration requirements of the CSA; or it could mean removing marijuana entirely from the control of the CSA. “Decriminalization” generally refers to maintaining some form of marijuana ban, but enforcing the ban only through non-criminal sanctions, such as civil fines.

But what about the postponement of marijuana or its removal from Schedule 1 status? Well, it’s not good news either. As in the side bar paper it says:

If the President tried to act in the area of ​​controlled substances regulation, he would likely do so by regulation. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that the President is only empowered to issue an executive order if so required by “a law of Congress or. . . the constitution itself ”. The CSA does not give the President a direct role in the classification of controlled substances, nor does Article II of the Constitution give the President any powers in this area (the Federal Controlled Substances Act is an exercise of the power of Congress to regulate trade between states). Thus, it does not appear that the President could postpone or postpone marijuana directly by executive order.

So it is all downfall and tribulation for President Biden’s miraculous move to legalize or postpone marijuana? Yes and no, while tomorrow morning the president may not be able to sign an executive order and legalize or move the facility, he has significant sway over his cabinet members, to the point where the paper says:

Although the president cannot unilaterally postpone or postpone a controlled substance, he has a great indirect influence on decisions about scheduling. The president could pursue the appointment of officials to advocate a rescheduling, or he could issue executive orders directing DEA, HHS, and FDA to consider an administrative rescheduling of marijuana. The notification and comment process would be time-consuming and subject to judicial review in the event of a dispute, but could be carried out in accordance with the procedural requirements of the CSA. Alternatively, the president could work with Congress to move the date forward through an amendment to the CSA.

This comes at a time when the Republican Party is drafting its own law to legalize cannabis and is soliciting feedback from the Democrats. We discussed the question of whether the Democrats missed their chance to be legalized with the electorate, as the Republican bill is much more sensible and may appear to a multitude of Senators on both sides of the island. Either way, the goal is to make marijuana unscheduled and legalized at the federal level, regardless of which party introduces the bill or the legislature.

It doesn’t look like President Biden is in a rush to legalize cannabis, and Mitch McConnell has banned all cannabis laws from getting the Senate vote. With Republican governors now sitting in 22 states having legal medical marijuana, now may be the time to benefit from such higher voter support, roughly 68% of the total voting population in America.

Fingers crossed, but there is real optimism now as Republicans enact law to legalize it, as cannabis stocks have risen over 10% since the announcement and many industry forecasters on Wall Street are now predicting a sudden move towards state legalizing the term.

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