The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. 
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden,
As California stakeholders invested in the future of equitable cannabis reform and those impacted by federal cannabis criminalization, we write to urge your administration to deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). 

Although we appreciate your administration’s efforts to review how marijuana is considered under federal law and its efforts to grant pardons for simple marijuana possession -- we are deeply concerned that rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III under the CSA -- without further action -- will leave many California stakeholders criminalized under federal law. Only by removing marijuana from the CSA entirely -- or descheduling it -- will the federal government be able to end cannabis criminalization and address the ongoing conflict between federal law and states laws. 

California has long led efforts to decriminalize marijuana. In 1996 it became the first state in the nation to decriminalize medical use. Twenty years later, in 2016, it became the first state in the nation to explicitly include expungement and community reinvestment provisions in its legalization laws. The nation’s first cannabis social equity programs were started in California at the local level -- with Oakland leading the way, shortly followed by efforts in San Francisco and the City of Los Angeles. 

California is also the largest and oldest cannabis market in the nation -- and in California marijuana is one of the state’s leading agricultural products, with over $5.9 billion in sales, approximately 6.7 million consumers, and an industry with of approximately 8,500 licensees responsible for approximately 83,000 jobs. 

Today, following California's lead, a total of 38 states have passed laws authorizing the medical use of marijuana and 24 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws authorizing adults 21 and older to use marijuana. Moreover, 70% of U.S. adults now favor legalization. 

However, despite the efforts of California and other states passing laws to decriminalize, legalize and regulate marijuana in a way that is safe, sustainable and equitable,  if marijuana is rescheduled to Schedule III -- patients, consumers, employees, businesses and other stakeholders complying with state laws, like California’s laws authorizing medical and adult use, will continue to be subject to federal criminal penalties. This disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities and non-citizens and creates barriers to housing, education, employment and other federal benefits for everyone. 

Moreover, if marijuana is rescheduled to Schedule III, participants in California’s and other state’s cannabis industries will continue to be considered engaged in criminal activity under federal law, creating challenges for bankruptcy, banking and programs for small, minority and veteran owned cannabis businesses. As a result, federal criminalization also directly hinders the efforts of state and local governments with policies intended to address the harms of cannabis criminalization, especially on Black and Brown communities. 

It is imperative that federal laws be updated to end federal cannabis criminalization and address the underlying conflicts between federal and state law. Without fully removing marijuana from the CSA --  federal criminalization will continue to hinder the progress that California and other states have made on cannabis reform and regulation. 

We ask your administration to support the descheduling of marijuana from the CSA and to take action to ensure that the federal government begins the work that California and now so many other states have started -- to acknowledge, end and address the harms of criminalization and to shift the federal government towards a federal framework that better promotes public health, public safety, equity and the will of the American people. 

Sincerely,
California Cannabis Stakeholders

Amber Senter
Executive Director, Supernova Women

Cat Packer
Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation, Drug Policy Alliance 
Executive Director, City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation (2017-2022) 

Jason Ortiz
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Last Prisoner Project