{"id":20560,"date":"2025-02-28T06:25:36","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T23:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/?p=20560"},"modified":"2025-03-06T05:35:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T23:05:00","slug":"marijuana-rescheduling-federal-uncertainty-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/marijuana-rescheduling-federal-uncertainty-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Reclasificaci\u00f3n de la marihuana: Incertidumbre federal en EE. UU."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About the book Green Rush: The Rise of Medical Marijuana in the United States<\/em><\/a> by Daniel J. Mallinson and A. Lee Hannah, published by NYU Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden\u2019s Marijuana Reform Faces Delays and Federal Pushback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the Biden Administration\u2019s effort to reschedule marijuana <\/strong>seemed long overdue, the process has not been smooth and is now uncertain under the new Trump Administration. In the fall of 2022, Biden directed<\/a> the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review marijuana\u2019s placement on the Controlled Substances Act schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September of 2023, Health and Human Services recommended<\/a> that marijuana be rescheduled from Schedule I (a category of drugs with \u201ca high potential for abuse\u201d with \u201cno currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States\u201d) to Schedule III (a category of drugs with \u201ca potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II\u201d and \u201ca currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that thirty-eight states have medical marijuana policies and twenty-four also have recreational policies, federal prohibition has become untenable in recent years. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In May of 2024, the Department of Justice joined HHS and recommended<\/a> rescheduling. The final step of rescheduling was left to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) which requires a formal rulemaking process of administrative hearings and public comments. The DEA process has been beset with delays, perhaps exacerbated by the presidential transition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Cover<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Given that thirty-eight states have medical marijuana policies and twenty-four also have recreational policies, federal prohibition has become untenable in recent years<\/strong>. Even conservative Justice Clarence Thomas opined<\/a> in 2021 that \u201c[a] prohibition on intrastate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper to support the Federal Government\u2019s piecemeal approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Trump\u2019s appointee to head the Drug Enforcement Administration has advocated for a \u201cjust say no<\/a>\u201d approach to drugs. And newly confirmed Secretary of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a vocal supporter of marijuana legalization when he was a Democratic candidate for president,<\/strong> has backed off of that position during the confirmation process expressing<\/a> concerns about the \u201ccatastrophic impacts\u201d that marijuana legalization can have on some people and arguing that the legal programs will allow the HHS to do more studies on it (ignoring the fact that HHS just wrapped up such a study a year ago).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of whether rescheduling goes forward, the future of marijuana policy in the United States will still be worked out by the states. <\/strong>This means that for those outside the United States who are paying attention to drug policy here, they must understand the dynamics of American federalism<\/a> and pay attention to the states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State Policies vs. Federal Uncertainty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In our book, Green Rush: The Rise of Medical Marijuana in the United States<\/em><\/a> (NYU Press), we argue that you have to look to the states if you want to understand the current status of marijuana and drug policy reform in the United States.<\/strong> Since 1996, states have been liberalizing marijuana policies in defiance of federal prohibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal rescheduling will leave in place many problems facing state medical and recreational marijuana programs. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Medical policies that started with minimal regulations and even less certainty, have become ubiquitous and highly regulated. States haven\u2019t just ignored federal law, they have facilitated the rise of federally-prohibited industries and products within their borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet medical and recreational policies are only protected by federal nonenforcement, or forbearance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonenforcement has been tenuously held by the federal government<\/a> through Department of Justice (DOJ) directives and a budget rider<\/a> that has been passed by Congress since 2015 holding that the DOJ should not interfere in states and territories \u201cimplementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical<\/em> marijuana.\u201d [emphasis ours].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that nothing is really protecting state-legal recreational marijuana from a federal crackdown.<\/strong> And moving marijuana to Schedule III means that businesses are still selling a controlled substance, leaving recreational and medical businesses in a legal gray area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What We Can Expect with Rescheduling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I<\/a> drug since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. Schedule I drugs are deemed to have \u201cno currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse\u201d and include LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Protest<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The move to Schedule III classifies marijuana as a drug with \u201cmoderate to low potential for physical or psychological dependence\u201d and puts it in the same category as codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone.<\/strong> Notably, formulations of the substances in Schedule III can be approved by the FDA, prescribed, and used for medical reasons. Moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III will have two immediate consequences. One will impact marijuana production and the other will impact medical research on marijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, rescheduling will be welcomed by marijuana businesses that currently pay high effective federal tax rates<\/strong>. Section 280E of the U.S. tax code prohibits businesses that deal with Schedule I or Schedule II substances from making any deductions for business expenses. While other businesses can deduct expenses like rent, legal fees, and more, marijuana businesses cannot. Moving to Schedule III should significantly reduce their tax burden and operating costs which should lead to lower prices for patients and consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, rescheduling could jumpstart medical marijuana research.<\/strong> Currently, researchers face regulatory and supply hurdles that make it nearly impossible<\/a> to conduct clinical trials. While registering to conduct Schedule III research is easier, researchers still have to navigate a lot of red tape<\/a> including only using cannabis from federal suppliers and dealing with onerous FDA requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

States Remain the Laboratories for Marijuana Policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the end of his term in 2016, President Obama was pressed<\/a> by a reporter on why his Administration had not done more to push marijuana policy forward. Obama responded, \u201cThere\u2019s something to this whole states-being-laboratories-of-democracy.<\/em>\u201d Essentially, he punted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama\u2019s phrase comes from a U.S. Supreme Court opinion in 1932 <\/strong>where Justice Brandeis argued<\/a> that \u201ca single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.<\/em>\u201d It\u2019s been eight years since that interview, and even though 38 states have medical marijuana policies and another 24 have recreational policies, the states remain<\/a> the ones running the experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though former President Biden took the biggest step yet on federal marijuana reform – it will still take a long time for these changes to make their way down to the states. Federal rescheduling will leave in place many problems facing state medical and recreational marijuana programs. So the states will continue to experiment, <\/strong>technically in defiance of federal law, even as the federal government finally begins to move towards them in recognizing public demand for changes in the nation\u2019s drug laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the Biden Administration\u2019s effort to reschedule marijuana seemed long overdue, the process has not been smooth and is now uncertain under the new Trump Administration.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":20766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":49,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[774],"ppma_author":[1156,1157],"class_list":{"0":"post-20560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-governance"},"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","authors":[{"term_id":1156,"user_id":144,"is_guest":0,"slug":"daniel-j-mallinson","display_name":"Daniel J. Mallinson","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mallinson_Daniel1-1.webp","url2x":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mallinson_Daniel1-1.webp"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""},{"term_id":1157,"user_id":145,"is_guest":0,"slug":"lee-hannah","display_name":"Lee Hannah","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Hannah-Lee-02-8-22_0.webp","url2x":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Hannah-Lee-02-8-22_0.webp"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20560"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicsrights.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=20560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}