FDA Calls for Public Comment on Cannabis Rescheduling

FDA officials have put out a call for public comment about the potential rescheduling of cannabis and several other substances.

The feds want specifically to hear about the substances’ “abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking, and impact of scheduling changes on availability for medical use.”

First reported for Forbes by cannabis reporter Tom Angell, the notice was posted early Wednesday morning.

All comment submissions are due by October 31 — submissions can be made online via the FDA website or written statements can be mailed to the agency. 

The comment period was prompted by a call from the World Health Organization (WHO) for input regarding drug laws and potentially updating international drug treaties that bar nations from legalizing certain drugs — treaties that were championed by the U.S. government during the heyday of the drug war. Uruguay and Canada have both taken steps to federally legalize cannabis but, so far, the international community has not taken significant action against them.

Last week, reports surfaced that the FDA had called for the complete descheduling of CBD — the non-psychoactive cannabinoid most commonly associated with pain relief and epilepsy medication — but DEA pushback resulted in a Schedule 5 classification for only FDA-approved drugs.

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