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[RainDog]

105. Congress is not required to decriminalize cannabis

although they are one of the routes by which decriminalization may occur - and there is a bill that is stuck in Lamar Smith's committee right now.

Smith, a Republican who represents Austin, TX, has stated the bill will never leave his office. Unfortunately, b/c of the gerrymandering TX republicans have done over the years, it's not even likely that Austin can get rid of the guy.

If cannabis was removed from the drug schedules, it would be removed from the purview of the DEA. Instead, it would be something the FDA would regulate.

Both the DEA and the FDA have the capacity to call for rescheduling b/c, when Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act, they left the issue of scheduling to these two agencies. Congress can add something to the schedules, but they are not required to remove something.

Rescheduling is not overseen by Congress - it's done among bureaucracies.