WASHINGTON – United for Marijuana Decriminalization (UMD), a coalition of prominent drug and marijuana policy reform organizations, has launched a digital public comment tool for individuals and communities adversely impacted by criminalization to demand that marijuana be fully removed from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The UMD public comment tool will be accessible until the Drug Enforcement Administration’s public comment period closes on July 22, 2024.
After months of public education around the insufficiencies of rescheduling, United for Marijuana Decriminalization’s public comment tool is the coalition’s next step in engaging every corner of the nation to directly confront President Biden’s failed campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana. The president has repeatedly stated that no one should be arrested for smoking marijuana, however, his administration formally proposed a rule to reschedule marijuana, which would continue such enforcement.
The publication of this rule has triggered a 62 day public comment period, during which the public can respond to the proposal before a final determination is made.
In response to this unprecedented opportunity for members of the public to weigh in on the future of federal marijuana policy, United for Marijuana Decriminalization is working to ensure that individuals and communities most impacted by criminalization leverage the public comment process to demand an end to federal marijuana prohibition and its harms. The coalition’s tool is designed to empower these individuals and communities to participate in the public comment process, point out the limitations of rescheduling marijuana especially for communities that bear the brunt of criminalization’s harms, and demand action from federal leaders to end and repair the injustices of the drug war.
The tool’s pre-drafted comment, which members of the public can fully customize prior to submission, emphasizes that rescheduling will not end unjust criminal legal consequences for marijuana-related activities, it will not restore rights and opportunities for individuals and communities targeted by marijuana criminalization, nor will rescheduling ensure a diverse marketplace by protecting small businesses and equity programs from the emergence of national and multinational corporate monopolies.
“Creating a record of voices resisting rescheduling is critical for the archives and our continued movement to stop the arrests, incarceration and lifelong punishment that comes with being caught with the wrong plant in the wrong state. Without the federal action removing marijuana from the CSA and focusing on comprehensive repair, states in the US South will continue to be left behind as we watch our neighbors celebrate with progress and profits” said Chelsea Higgs Wise, Executive Director of Marijuana Justice .
“Our communities know that rescheduling is not enough.We’re calling on all individuals and communities adversely and disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization and those that support federal marijuana decriminalization to make their voices heard in the public comment process and to demonstrate to federal leaders that the public supports and needs reforms beyond rescheduling, including legalization” said Cat Packer, Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation for the Drug Policy Alliance.
Packer continued, “All stakeholders — even cannabis industry participants who would benefit from Schedule III’s tax relief – have an opportunity to leverage this public comment process to bring attention to the harms of federal criminalization, those impacted and to advocate for reforms that would acknowledge, end and address the harms of criminalization and shift the federal government towards a federal framework that better promotes public health, public safety, equity and the will of the American people.”
“The days of thinking ‘this isn’t my issue, it’s someone else’s’ are effectively behind us now. To stop at simply providing financial relief to a very few, while continuing to marginalize communities that have long suffered under the disproportionate weight of discriminatory cannabis policies would indeed be an abhorrent miscarriage of justice. Participation in the public comment period is an opportunity to demand restitution and be counted in the annals of history” said Natacha Andrews, Esq., Founder & Executive Director of the National Association of Black Cannabis Lawyers.
“It’s hard to not feel the gravity of the historic moment we find ourselves in and while I understand the excitement from many, I can’t help but also feel the sadness of those who remain locked up for something others are tracking investment returns from. We can and need to do better than rescheduling. Schedule III will perpetuate our failed approach on marijuana, not end it. Descheduling is the only answer that is in alignment with science, morality and the will of the American people. It’s time for folks from around the country to submit their comments and let their voices be heard once and for all”, said Kaliko Castille Board Member of Better Opportunity To Win Legalization (BOWL).
About United for Marijuana Decriminalization
UMD is a coalition of organizations concerned that rescheduling is simply a rebranding of marijuana prohibition, not the end of it. Members of UMD include the Drug Policy Alliance, the National Cannabis Industry Association, Better Organizing to Win Legalization, the Minority Cannabis Business Association, Parabola Center for Law and Policy, the National Association of Black Cannabis Lawyers, and Marijuana Justice.
