Holding the Line on Drug Legalization

Holding the Line on Drug Legalization

WATCH THE VIDEO:

Who's Waging the Drug War Against the USA?
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DEA veteran Dr. John Coleman looks at the big money coming from Red China, George Soros and others behind the illegal drug business in the United States and how they have gotten to President Trump. Host Cliff Kincaid notes that Charlie Kirk was opposed to legal dope and praises Trump insider Laura Ingraham for opposing marijuana legalization. Who in the Trump White House is pushing legal dope and can they be stopped?

By JOHN J. COLEMAN, Ph. D.
PRESIDENT, DRUG WATCH INTERNATIONAL
VIRGINIA*

Regarding the White House and its reported EO on rescheduling marijuana, this was not unexpected. As many know, the cannabis industry long ago adopted the successful strategies of other industries, such as defense, real estate, and pharmaceuticals, and sent lobbyists to both parties to persuade them and make generous campaign contributions through friendly organizations and PACs. 

Fortunately, the efforts of the prior administration revealed the industry’s playbook, and our defenses were well prepared. The process is straightforward and unambiguous, and must be followed; otherwise, an appeals court will likely set aside any Final Rule to reschedule. 
The other side lost the last attempt due to its own stupidity, making a big issue out of a minor one and calling for an appeal. While the train was stopped, time ran out, and the matter was placed on indefinite hold while a new team was formed. That is where we are right now.

If the new team takes up where the old team left off, we are well prepared. As I said to someone yesterday, it’s the same fight, just a different arena.

The president cannot change a statute. The Constitution leaves that power to Congress. The president can issue an Executive Order that is binding on his administration but is, itself, not law and must not conflict with the law. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) provide administrative means for scheduling, rescheduling, and removing drugs from schedules. While Congress ceded this power to the Attorney General and the Secretary of HHS, and their delegates (the DEA Administrator and the Assistant Secretary for Health, respectively), it did so with a number of checks and balances. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) controls and describes how the process must be implemented. 

Should the president issue an EO to reschedule marijuana, it would likely be incumbent upon the Attorney General, who, before initiating action to change the control status of marijuana, must officially request from the Secretary of HHS a scientific and medical evaluation and recommendation as to the appropriate scheduling of the drug in question. 

In the past, a significant hurdle for the other side was to show that marijuana “has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” (CSA Sect. 811) Typically, this factor can be demonstrated by either past approval of the drug or by clinical trials that met their endpoints and received FDA approval for a new drug application. 

In the previous exercise, there were no clinical trials or a new drug application for marijuana. An opinion by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel claimed that the DEA's interpretation of the CSA was “too narrow.”  It offered that the many physicians and patients currently using the drug for medical purposes should suffice as a substitute for clinical trials. OLC's current AAG, T. Elliot Gaiser, is likely to have a different opinion, as will the AG. I have no idea how the current Assistant Secretary for Health may view this issue. The Secretary, RFK, Jr., in the past, has said favorable things about medical cannabis, but he also pledged to Congress that he would restore the FDA's "gold standard" for drug approvals. That suggests strong support for maintaining adherence to the statutes, including those calling for NDAs and clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy.

The cannabis industry may see this as a win-win regardless. If the administrative route fails, as is likely, the industry will likely focus attention and resources on Congress in a revitalized effort to change the CSA. Congressional legislation on scheduling is immediate and not open to challenge.
The process – up to the point it was derailed by the industry – was quite arbitrary and not in accordance with how drug approvals and scheduling are, by law, supposed to be determined. 

Many of the same arguments will likely be made again by both sides. I’m not an attorney, so I can’t say precisely what we might see from the other side. While we will probably make most, if not all, the same arguments because they were reasonable and appropriate to begin with, the other side may opt to make a few changes. Surely, the rambling and often incoherent “opinion” of OLC may change, and, likewise, we may see a more rational scientific and medical evaluation than the one given by the Assistant Secretary of Health.
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As you note, there is considerable opposition to this inside the administration, and this may be little more than purse-rattling in anticipation of the midterms. Big Pot, like Big Tobacco, has deep pockets and generously befriends those who help it. 

I think we can hold the line.

*Mr. Coleman served thirty-two years as a Special Agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) before retiring in January 1998 as one of its top management officials. His career included progressively important permanent assignments in the United States and Europe. His domestic field service included assignments as Special Agent in Charge of three separate DEA Field Divisions and Associate Special Agent in Charge and Assistant Special Agent in Charge of two others. As Assistant Administrator for Operations, the third highest position in the DEA, Mr. Coleman supervised an annual operating budget of $816 million, and managed the activities of over 7,000 employees in 19 domestic divisions and 75 overseas offices. Mr. Coleman's career included extensive executive and policymaking experience at the uppermost levels of government service. Mr. Coleman began his career in 1965 as an entry-level undercover drug agent on the streets of New York City and went on to eventually hold several of the most important positions in the agency. From 1991 until retirement in 1998, Mr. Coleman served at the highest rank (SES-06) of the federal Senior Executive Service. From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Coleman served as the Assistant Administrator for Operations, the highest non-Presidentially appointed position in the DEA. John Coleman is President of the Board of Directors of Drug Watch International.