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Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the big news is rescheduling. Oregon lawmakers introduced a bill to re-legalize hemp. The Supreme Court decided not to weigh in on cannabis. And finally, holiday cheer does not involve sidewalk pot.
RESCHEDULING
Talk of rescheduling has taken up all the oxygen in every room this week. Rumors started flying late last week, with the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana sounding the alarm with a video on X. All the cannabis news outlets ran with the story that rescheduling was going to happen any minute (!!!!). And what to the wondering eyes of the cannabis industry did appear, but...rescheduling! An executive order signed today directs the Attorney General to expedite completion of the process of rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act, per a fact sheet released Thursday afternoon. The executive order is available here.
Note: this executive order does not reschedule cannabis. It directs the Justice Department to do so. Given the history of cannabis, one has to assume that lawsuits will be forthcoming. So is this a big deal? Sure, it's not every day that a President has something nice to say about cannabis. Could it lead to rescheduling? Yes, absolutely. Is cannabis off Schedule I and on Schedule III right now? Definitely not. Stay tuned...
FEDERAL HEMP BILL
Oregon's two Senators, Rob Wyden (D) and Jeff Merkley (D), were less than delighted with the recent law criminalizing intoxicating hemp. They've recently released a bill that would not only reverse the law, but would also regulate the hemp industry going forward. The text is available here; note that it has not yet been formally introduced. As the ban won't take effect for a while, don't expect movement on this any time soon.
SUPREME COURT
Since both the executive and legislative branches of government have been featured in the cannabis news this week, it seems only fair to give some attention to the judicial branch as well. The Supreme Court decided not to hear a case challenging the federal government's ban on cannabis. This leaves the Court's 2005 decision on this issue, finding that the Commerce Clause gives the federal government the ability to prohibit the cultivation and use of marijuana, state laws not withstanding, as the law of the land.
AND FINALLY
Surprise gifts are part of the festive season, but the Auburn, California police department would like everyone to know that putting out jars of "free weed" is not an acceptable way to play Secret Santa. The fact that the weed is allegedly both organic and cage free makes no difference. "Surprises are for stockings, not sidewalks," police said.
Be well everyone – we'll be off next week, but look for our Year in Weed column on January 2!
