https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/marijuana-rescheduling-drug-policy/2024/05/16/id/1165018/


The Department of Justice on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy.

A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. The plan approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will next take public comment on the proposal in a potentially lengthy process. If approved, it would move marijuana away from its classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It would instead be a Schedule III substance, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids.

The move comes after a recommendation from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which launched a review of the drug’s status at the urging of President Joe Biden in 2022.

Biden also has moved to pardon thousands of people convicted federally of simple possession of marijuana and has called on governors and local leaders to take similar steps to erase convictions.

"This is monumental," Biden said in a video statement, calling it an important move toward reversing longstanding inequities. "Far too many lives have been upended because of a failed approach to marijuana, and I’m committed to righting those wrongs. You have my word on it."

The election year announcement could help Biden boost flagging support, particularly among younger voters.

The notice of proposed rulemaking submitted to the federal register kicks off a 60-day comment period followed by a possible review from an administrative judge, which could be a drawn-out process.

Biden and a growing number of lawmakers from both major political parties have been pushing for the DEA decision as marijuana has become increasingly decriminalized and accepted, particularly by younger people.

The U.S. Cannabis Council, a trade group, applauded the proposed change, saying it would "signal a tectonic shift away from the failed policies of the last 50 years."

The available data reviewed by HHS shows that while marijuana "is associated with a high prevalence of abuse," that potential is more in line with other Schedule III substances, according to the proposed rule.

The HHS recommendations are binding until the draft rule is submitted, and Garland agreed with it for the purposes of starting the process.

Still, the DEA has not yet formed its own determination as to where marijuana should be scheduled, and it expects to learn more during the rulemaking process, the document stated.

Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy adviser now with the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said there isn’t enough data to support moving marijuana to Schedule III.

"As we’ve maintained throughout this process, it’s become undeniable that politics, not science, is driving this decision and has been since the very beginning," Sabet said.

Schedule III drugs are still controlled substances and subject to rules and regulations, and people who traffic in them without permission could still face federal criminal prosecution.

Some critics argue the DEA shouldn’t change course on marijuana, saying rescheduling isn’t necessary and could lead to harmful side effects. But others argue that rescheduling doesn't go far enough and marijuana should instead be treated the way alcohol is.

Federal drug policy has lagged many states in recent years, with 38 states having legalized medical marijuana and 24 legalizing its recreational use. That has helped fuel fast growth in the marijuana industry, with an estimated worth of nearly $30 billion.

Easing federal regulations could reduce the tax burden that can be 70% or more for marijuana businesses, according to industry groups. It also could make it easier to research marijuana, because it’s difficult to conduct authorized clinical studies on Schedule I substances.

Just fully legalize it already.  Damn.

Cut out the laws.

Cut out the people in jail.

Cut out the backlogged cases.

Get rid of government power.

Throw a small tax on it.

Figure out how to test for true inebriation.

All of this.  Also takes away a Dem campaign issue.

The easiest war to win is one that you don’t fight.

it has been longer than 5 years. Robert Mitchem was arrested in 1948.

Treat it like cigarettes: tax it heavily, and begin a multi decade effort to make smoking it socially unacceptable, followed by regulation by the FDA to control it due to adverse health effects and secondhand smoke.

ETA: and get on that secondhand smoke thing ASAP - that shit stinks!

What else would you like to tax?

Why are yall asking for special taxes?

Yes. FFS it's 2024 put that shit in an edible, vape, or tincture.

Prostitutes should be able to protect their pot fields with unregistered machine guns. Anything less is tyranny.

Hey we can't get rid of our way to control the populace

Fuck all of that.

You should've played Peter Tosh

I think you missed the irony in my post.

And I suppose when it all goes horribly wrong they'll blame it on Trumpf.

Well, yes - isn't that obvious?

How do you put a tax on marijuana without recording and enforcement?

LOL

The only reason they've classified it to III is to make it easier to bank.  They're just protecting favored financial interests.  Still illegal to possess, sell, or use medically without an actual DEA licensed prescription which isn't going to happen for most of you and even if it were it'd have to be an FDA approved controlled substance not just some random plant.  It's a symbolic act, kind of like pardoning all those 0 people that were in jail for federal possession.

I wonder how many people realize that all this does is allow for different forms of research to be conducted on Marijuana.

I bet ganja heads drive specifically to Muskogee to score and get stoned.

Nah it allows legal prescriptions in many states and truthful answers on a 4473 for those that have them.

Okay, nanny.    It took a second to get your sarcasm.

Agree.

The FDA regulates tobacco “random plants”. It’s the same model with a doctor as the gatekeeper for end users.

If the Republicans really wanted to win they would make a credible push to decriminalize it federally. Put it on the Democrats to shoot it down in order to appease their lobbyists.

Tobacco is not a controlled substance under the CSA.  Controlled substances have to be approved and prescribed under a DEA license by a provider.  It is nothing like the current situation with state based medical "recommendations" by physicians, nor anything like tobacco.

Opens the door for Big Pharma to roll out their 'brand' of faux cannabis.  Schedule 3 means RX's, too.

But hey, let's ban menthol cigarettes.

Does this mean that more people will get high on weed, or just that the people already getting high on weed will just do it more often?





.

I drive by a legal recreational pot shop in a very affluent part of the country every day. It should be like that everywhere.

I'm sure that people that smoke weed legally or otherwise are calibrating their usage to what the DOJ thinks.

fuck that, last thing we should support is more fed tax.  

Admittedly I’m no expert so I guess we’ll see what happens.

The writing is on the wall with MJ.

It's not the same as tobacco. MJ will always be controlled in some way. Like alcohol. Using it in public and driving under the influence will always be illegal.

Fixt.  Fuck taxes

Anything that he doesn't like and approve of.

Things are always going to be taxed. Whining about it on the internet isn't going to help anything.

The people advocating legalization are not going to be happy with it when it is legal....This is a great example of be careful what you wish for.

drugs have won the war on drugs. Not even weed but literal drugzombies in broad daylight in places like seattle. I guess after the war on terror, we have the "Walalalal death to israel" stuff going on inside US college campuses too.

lol

They are just trying to pacify us to take more rights away

That's what your beer is for.