The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision to significantly curtail federal regulatory agencies’ power has triggered a fresh round of uncertainty about the status of marijuana rescheduling.
But none of this uncertainty is expected to disrupt the Biden administration’s rescheduling process, policy and administrative law experts told MJBizDaily.
The high court ruled 6-3 along partisan lines on Friday that courts no longer must give deference to federal agencies’ interpretation of laws when Congress leaves ambiguity, marking an end to the so-called Chevron doctrine, named for a 1984 court case.
In the past, courts “hand(ed) over their judicial power to interpret to the actual subject matter experts in the room – the regulators,” Deb Tharp, head of legal and policy research at NuggMD, told MJBizDaily leading up to the Chevron decision.
Speculation about what consequences the Chevron ruling might present regulated marijuana markets include questions about federal agencies’ ability to issue future nonbinding guidance such as a new Cole memo as well as fresh doubts over whether the Drug Enforcement Administration will be able to rein in intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8 THC and THCA. Read story >
