The Drug Enforcement Administration said Monday it will begin to approve applications from companies looking to produce and test medical marijuana — but only after it writes new rules to govern the practice.
Three years after the Obama administration promised a new approach at the federal level, the Trump administration said it’s finally taking steps to make good on the promise.
Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that the DEA is now “moving forward” on the applications.
Uttam Dhillon, the DEA’s acting administrator, said he expects adding more registered producers will increase the supply and variety of marijuana that can be used for research.
“DEA is making progress in the program to register additional marijuana growers for federally authorized research, and will work with other relevant federal agencies to expedite the necessary next steps,” he said.
Marijuana enthusiasts cheered the news but said it also was an admission that the DEA has been spinning its wheels for the last three years. And they wondered what sort of delays will ensue from the DEA’s plans to write new legal guidelines.
“According to the DEA’s filing, the agency has yet to even evaluate even one of the dozens of applications before it — many of which have been pending for more than two years, nor do they provide any timetable regarding when or if they ever will,” said Erik Altieri, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Indeed, the DEA’s move appears to be a response to pressure from a federal appeals court in Washington.
After a lawsuit by Scottsdale Research Institute, one of the companies whose application has been pending since 2016, the appeals court ordered the DEA to report back by this week on what it was doing with the applications.
The DEA insisted it’s not been idle. It said the number of institutions registered to perform marijuana research rose from 384 in 2017 to 542 at the beginning of this year, and said the production quota has doubled as federally approved research expands.
Yet the sourcing of federally approved cannabis has been one site at the University of Mississippi, which pot enthusiasts say has limited medicinal research.
Monday’s move comes as the Trump administration struggles to figure out a marijuana policy.
Under federal law the drug is still classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, which is the highest level of restriction. Yet many states have legalized marijuana use for medicinal purposes, and a growing number have also approved it for recreational use.
Obama administration officials had signaled a more lenient approach, saying they would not pursue criminal charges against users in states where it is legal — though the feds said they would still go after major dealers and criminal enterprises.
One part of that more open approach was the 2016 announcement of a policy to expand approval of medical research. Yet over the intervening years the organizations that applied said they saw little evidence of action.
The DEA suggested Monday the delay has been bureaucratic, saying it’s still studying how to make sure the marijuana growers’ activities comply with federal law.
“That review process remains ongoing; however, it has progressed to the point where DEA is able to issue Notices of Application,” the agency wrote in its official notice in the Federal Register.
“Over the course of this policy review process, the Department of Justice has also determined that adjustments to DEA’s policies and practices related to the marihuana growers program may be necessary. Accordingly, before DEA completes this evaluation and registration process, DEA intends to propose regulations in the near future that would supersede the 2016 policy statement and govern persons seeking to become registered with DEA to grow marihuana as bulk manufacturers, consistent with applicable law,” the agency said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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