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A lawsuit challenging marijuana’s federal classification as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act remains alive after a federal appeals court denied the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s request to dismiss the suit.
The lawsuit, filed in May by a group of scientists and veterans, is part of an effort to claim that such a designation is unconstitutional based on marijuana’s possible medical use.
Plaintiffs in a separate suit recently filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue.
The cases, if plaintiffs prevail, could have enormous implications on the legalization of marijuana federally, perhaps compelling the DEA to reschedule the plant.
But the conventional wisdom is that it’s more likely that the U.S. Congress eventually will either reschedule or deschedule marijuana.
The one-page order from 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco called for parties to submit briefs later this fall.
Separately, congressional lawmakers have been pushing for months for the DEA to issue additional marijuana cultivation licenses for research purposes.
The DEA has said it needs time to implement proper policies for the research program.
A 2018 U.S. Department of Justice legal memo suggests the research program failed to expand because previous research rules might have violated international drug laws by stipulating the DEA must physically possess and control the distribution of marijuana.
Marijuana has been shipped to researchers from a center at the University of Mississippi, the DEA’s sole licensed grower.
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