DEA Asks Court To Overturn Cannabis Rescheduling Appeal

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reiterated that a lawsuit challenging marijuana’s classification as a Schedule 1 drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act should be dismissed because of lack of jurisdiction and merit.Reports MJ Biz

MJ Biz precis of the response says

• The petitioners in this case weren’t involved in the original rescheduling request to the DEA. Instead, they are asking the court to reverse a DEA decision based on arguments that they never presented to the agency. Therefore the suit should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and for failure to exhaust administrative proceedings.
• If the petitioners had asked the DEA to reschedule marijuana and presented evidence on this point, the DEA could have considered their claim and offered a response.
• Petitioners also fail on the merits of their case, incorrectly contending that the DEA’s decision to retain marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug is arbitrary and capricious.

Here’s the DEA’s response in its 77 page entirety.

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DEA asks court to toss marijuana rescheduling appeal