GOP Congressman Says Marijuana Rescheduling Should Expand To ‘Across-The-Board’ Review Of Psychedelics And Other Drugs

A cannabis plant grows legally in the nation's capital where recreational marijuana is legal. Photo: Matt Laslo

This piece is written by Marijuana Moment using exclusive Washington reporting from The LCB.

A Republican congressman who leads efforts for marijuana reform on Capitol Hill says the Trump administration’s move to reschedule cannabis should be expanded to include a review of the classification of all federally controlled substances.

“I want to see an across-the-board examination of cannabis, hemp, psilocybin, tranquilizers—of everything,” Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), who serves as a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment in an interview.

Under an order issued by Attorney General Todd Blanche in April, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license immediately moved from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III, as did any marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

An administrative hearing is considering broader marijuana rescheduling, including of recreational products.

But Mast, for his part, wants a much broader reexamination of federal drug policy.

“I want them to review all of it,” he said. “So what is actually working well, what is actually working wrong.”

The scheduling of drugs needs to be reconsidered “across the board,” he said. “It’s not just cannabis. It’s a bigger conversation.”

Meanwhile, a recent review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) called on federal agencies to improve their policies that govern the drug scheduling process—including how they evaluate substances and develop recommendations.

That report found, among other things that the Drug Enforcement Administration “does not have any policies or procedures regarding how its staff are to conduct evaluations or schedule substances” and the Food and Drug Administration “does not have policies or procedures specifying how its staff are to conduct evaluations or develop scheduling recommendations for substances.”

Opponents of marijuana rescheduling are asking for the GAO report to be included in the official record for the administrative hearing, leading to a temporary pause in the proceedings.

The LCB contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.