The full official transcript of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) hearing on the Trump administration’s marijuana rescheduling proposal has now been made available to the public.
The release of the day-by-day record of the cannabis rescheduling proceedings comes after DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius ordered that dozens of mostly small and technical changes be made to an initial draft.
The full transcript runs 2,533 pages for the full 11 days of the proceedings and reveals DEA’s effort to advocate on behalf of the move to reschedule marijuana as well as opponents’ attempts to undermine it.
“The Government is not putting forth any evidence to suggest that marijuana is not dangerous. All controlled substances by definition are dangerous,” James Schwartz, a DEA attorney, said on the opening day of the hearing, according to the transcript. “That is why they are scheduled in the first place. However, controlled substances must be evaluated by the risks they pose balanced with the medical use they provide.”
“The proposed rule, the supporting documents, and the Government witnesses will establish that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use,” he said. “With that determination, marijuana can no longer remain in Schedule I.”
Julius, the DEA judge,
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