Between A Rock And A Hard Place: Rescheduling And The UN Single Convention On Narcotics

Will the United States Attorney General, via the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") follow the recent recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III? The plain language in the United States Controlled Substances Act (the "CSA") compels DEA to do so, but there is speculation that the DEA could disregard the last week's historic HHS Recommendation because of the Attorney General's limited duty under Section 811(d)(1) of the CSA.

Section 811(d)(1) of the CSA requires the Attorney General to make scheduling decisions, among other things, that carry out the country's obligations under the UN Single Convention on Narcotics of 1961, to which the United States is signatory (the "UN Single Convention"). Like the CSA, the UN Single Convention establishes several classifications or "schedules" of drugs and substances, all of which generally require member nations to tightly control cannabis,