“At a time when voters and their elected officials nationwide are re-evaluating state and federal marijuana policies, it is inconceivable that government agencies are unwilling to provide data on the estimated costs and scope of federal marijuana prohibition in America.”
DEA Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney has ordered witness testimony to begin on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
Rescheduling could have an outsized impact on the legal marijuana market in the nation’s capital.
“For too long, the DEA has imposed intimidatory tactics upon innocent travelers. Americans who purchase tickets to travel by plane, bus, or train should not be expected to forsake their civil liberties when they enter the terminal.”
NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said that he was disappointed but hardly surprised by the DEA’s decision to disproportionately include groups opposed to marijuana policy reform as designated participants. “The fight to end our nation’s outdated and failed cannabis prohibition laws has never been fought on a level playing field,” he said.
“We believe NORML has well earned a seat at the table, and that it is in the public interest for it to be heard.”
“Hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to be arrested annually for low-level cannabis-related violations even though a majority of voters no longer believe that the responsible use of marijuana by adults should be a crime.”
“These audio recordings reinforce the fact that the federal government’s decision to strictly criminalize marijuana was primarily a political one,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said.