Friend,

This spring, the Biden Administration opened a time-limited public comment period for members of the American public to weigh in on their proposal to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III. The deadline to provide feedback is July 22. And out of over 25,000 submissions in the first 30 days, more than two-thirds of those comments demanded federal marijuana decriminalization or descheduling, not rescheduling. 

We are the majority. And it’s important that our voices are heard loud and clear. With only 2 weeks left in the public comment period, we need to keep up the pressure. 

Advocates and reformers should register here for our workshop on federal marijuana decriminalization. Learn more about rescheduling marijuana, how to submit public comment, and how to mobilize your community in support of descheduling.



And if you haven’t already, now is the time to submit your public comment. Tell President Biden and his Administration that our communities demand an end to federal marijuana criminalization.

Through engaging in the public comment process, you are showing the White House that rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III on the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is simply not enough.  

Rescheduling marijuana would result in some tax benefits for pharmaceutical companies and marijuana businesses. But rescheduling means that marijuana criminalization and its harms would continue. Under Schedule III, people could lose their jobs for marijuana violations. Under Schedule III, the collateral consequences of a federal marijuana record would continue – including individuals losing access to SNAP food benefits. Under Schedule III, community members could still be incarcerated, deported, or separated from their families for marijuana. And it’s Black folks, Latinx folks, and noncitizens who would continue to be disproportionately impacted.  

That's why we are demanding an end to marijuana criminalization by removing marijuana from the CSA entirely, or descheduling it.  

Learn more about why rescheduling is not enough and how to get involved at our webinar this Wednesday.

By demonstrating broad public support for federal decriminalization, we are increasing pressure on federal leaders to pursue additional reforms. Biden and Congress have an opportunity and responsibility to take action to expunge marijuana records, issue broader pardons, ensure legal markets are equitable, and reinvest in the communities that have borne the brunt of over-policing and discriminatory enforcement. It’s a matter of willpower – and a matter of public pressure. 

It’s time to end our failed approach to federal marijuana laws and ensure that marijuana policy is grounded in evidence, health, and racial equity. 

The deadline is almost here. Tell the White House that rescheduling is not enough.