On Drugs - Substack

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Matt Zorn and Shane Pennington are lawyers that for the past 3 years have been at the bleeding edge of cannabis and drug policy litigation against the government. During this time, we’ve: litigated cases to end the 50-year NIDA monopoly, obtaining one of four Schedule I marijuana cultivation licenses for our client. uncovered a secret DOJ memo; got a smokable hemp ban struck down as unconstitutional in Texas; and got a federal judge to note that “in an appropriate case, the Drug Enforcement Administration may well be obliged to initiate a reclassification proceeding for marijuana, given the strength of” our arguments. We’ve been recognized for this work in the pages of national media, such as NBC, Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR. And we’ve done other things too, including other lawsuits against DEA, such as the Right to Try case that we helped brief and Matt argued. Behind the scenes, we counsel businesses and researchers on the ins-and-outs of federal and state drug law. You can read more about each us and why we do this below the line. Source

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The EUA-Psychedelics Backdoor Cracks Open Further

| On Drugs - Substack
As I put the finishing touches on a post about the AIDS pandemic—and how it led to the precipitous rise of the FDA-pharma-industrial complex—a new research study interrupted my flow. It relates to my last post on the more recent COVID-19 pandemic, Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA), and psychedelics.
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Marijuana Rescheduling Hearings

| On Drugs - Substack
This is the landing page for www.marijuanarescheduling.com where I will track the current historic DEA rulemaking proceedings to reschedule marijuana as it unfolds. This rulemaking not only will determine whether marijuana should be removed from Schedule I, but will have a significant import on the rescheduling of psychedelics and drug scheduling generally. One would think that these proceedings should be publicly accessible.
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Chevron's Demise Vis-a-Vis Cannabis Rescheduling

| On Drugs - Substack
I’m currently working on a longer post on the impact of Chevron’s demise and its impact on drug policy. I’m sure On Drugs alum and admin law pro Shane Pennnington will have a lot to say in the coming weeks as well. In the meantime, I want to publish a short note expanding on my quick take on X: Depending on who you read, Chevron’s demise is either the first step toward the Republic’s downfall or restoration. Let’s start with the basics.
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PSA: Don't Fuck Your Patients

| On Drugs - Substack
Great weekend at SXSW a couple weeks ago. Made new friends. Caught up with old ones. Saw a few in bathing suits in a hot tub. And now, I’m reflecting. One thing stands out. Admittedly, my mind is in a particular place. I’m currently penning an article on medical malpractice for the upcoming Summer 2024 Harvard POPLAR symposium on psychedelics. Naturally, but unfortunately, this endeavor makes it necessary to pay some attention to a per se act of therapy malpractice. Fucking patients.
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Will Rescheduling Marijuana Permit Federally Legal Medical Use?

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By Shane Pennington
| On Drugs - Substack
Following the release of HHS’s unredacted scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation, the Canna-gentsia have been opining left and right on the potential implications of a Schedule III move for marijuana. Seeing this debate occur following the release of the HHS report is refreshing. Indeed, this is part of what inspired the bringing of the FOIA case: if we’re going to have a public debate about rescheduling, it should be based on information, not speculation.
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My Response to SAM

| On Drugs - Substack
On cue, Smart Approaches for Marijuana (SAM)—the leading anti-marijuana group in the US—released its analysis of the HHS recommendation yesterday. Point by point, I respond. This is my sandbox, after all. These responses are by no means exhaustive. Certainly, the below doesn’t spell out all the legal arguments—likely not even the best ones. This is a quick take. Also, most of what is below isn’t anything different than what we’ve argued in court in other cases or said elsewhere here On Drugs.
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Freeing the Medical-Cannabis Industry From 280E Immediately Without Rescheduling

| On Drugs - Substack
HHS’s schedule III recommendation is a huge deal for several reasons. It marks the first time the United States federal government has formally recognized that cannabis has a “currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” as that term is used in . And because HHS’s views on scientific and medical issues are generally binding on DEA in the scheduling context, it greatly increases the odds that cannabis ultimately will end up in schedule III.
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The Unredacted HHS Docs

| On Drugs - Substack
Thanks to Matt, whoever it was that leaked HHS’s scheduling recommendation to Bloomberg a while back, and FOIA, I was up all night last night reviewing the unredacted copy of HHS’s 252-page analysis. A month ago, I went through a similar exercise with the heavily-redacted copies. Although HHS had revealed only scattered fragments and snippets of its analysis back then, I read the tea leaves and gave my best guesses as to what the agency’s analysis might say.
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HHS Releases Cannabis Recommendation

| On Drugs - Substack
HHS released the documents. It is too long so I haven’t read it. I’ll post the rest on X (@ondrugs). I’m not a smoke puffer. When I say “soon,” I mean it. Okay, back to an actual challenge: Abattoir of Zir.
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I Was Wrong About the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act

| On Drugs - Substack
In December of last year, President Biden signed into law the “Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, H.R. 8454.” As regular readers know, I vigorouslyopposed the Act. For months, I railed against it in series of essays that detailed its various flaws and counterproductive measures. Tomorrow, June 2, 2023, will mark six months since President Biden signed the Act into law, so I thought it a good time to take stock of whether my criticisms were proving well-founded.
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Pennington, Shane