Cannabis News of Note for the Week:
Cannabis Wire Daily (7/12): From security to accounting, the ancillary creep into cannabis continues (paywalled newsletter, text below)
Cannabis Wire Daily (7/11): House Republicans continue to swing at rescheduling (paywalled newsletter, text below)
Cannabis Reports of Note for the Week:
Congressional Research Service: Legislative Scheduling of Controlled Substances (July 9, 2024)
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Ancillary industries: From security to accounting, the ancillary creep into cannabis continues.
It’s no surprise that as cannabis becomes more mainstream, more mainstream industries are willing to embrace it. In recent days, we’ve spotted two non-cannabis entities with cannabis on the mind.
The first, the Security Industry Association, announced that it is seeking help with the “development of comprehensive guidance on surveillance video retention specifically for the cannabis industry.”
“Increasingly, the cannabis industry faces unique security and regulatory challenges, and effective surveillance is crucial for compliance and safety,” the announcement reads. “The aim of this initiative is to provide clear and practical guidelines to help cannabis businesses navigate these challenges confidently.”
Second, the American Institute of CPAs is planning a Cannabis Industry Conference in August that is focused on the tax implications of rescheduling.
“While the rescheduling and final rule have not yet taken effect, it’s important to prepare now for how you and your clients can navigate potential outcomes of the DEA’s final rule. The rescheduling will likely affect tax reform, banking access, and regulatory frameworks,” they wrote.
A reminder: the public comment period on rescheduling closes on July 22.
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Congress: House Republicans continue to swing at rescheduling.
This week, on Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee passed the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies FY 2025 spending bill, which included language that would prevent the Department of Justice from implementing any change to how cannabis is scheduled.
“None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to reschedule marijuana … or to remove marijuana from the schedules established” by the Controlled Substances Act, it reads. (You can read the bill here.)
For context, there is a flurry of cannabis-related language making the rounds as spending bills are getting crafted in Congress. But, as has been the case for years, little will make the cut. Nonetheless, the issues put forth for discussion provide a glimpse into the positions of members of Congress on various cannabis-related issues that are unlikely to see hearings or votes any time soon.
And, in the case of the House, Republicans are pushing back against both intoxicating hemp and rescheduling. On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration FY 2025 spending bill, which you can read here. As Cannabis Wire previously reported, the bill contains language that aims to ban intoxicating hemp products.
The Committee report accompanying the bill, which you can read here, also flags rescheduling concerns. In short, the Committee doesn’t trust the process by which the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration concluded that cannabis should be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III.
“The Committee is concerned about deviations from established drug scheduling evaluation standards in the FDA 2023 marijuana scheduling review,” they wrote. They then direct the Inspector General of HHS to produce a report on the review that looks at what they say are “deviations from the established five-factor currently accepted medical use test,” whether the “new, two-factor currently accepted medical use test” will “be the standard for all future reviews,” and the “inclusion of research results that are not statistically significant or inconclusive.”
It remains to be seen what, if anything, Senate Democrats put forth on these two issues, though it’s unlikely that they will challenge rescheduling.