Department of Health and Human Services wants to reclassify marijuana (1 Viewer)

[zztop]

small step in the right direction

Slightly higher times: Biden administration moves to loosen weed restrictions

The recommendation is the result of a yearlong review initiated by the president.

www.politico.com

The health agency wants the drug moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA, potentially the biggest change in federal drug policy in decades.

HHS Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine wrote in a Tuesday letter to the DEA, first reported by Bloomberg News, that the recommendation was based on a review conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.

 

[Lapaz]

It’s about time. Schedule 3 is a fair categorization of marijuana, but it can even be schedule 4. Here are the definitions:

“Schedule III: Drugs with low to moderate potential for abuse and/or addiction, but less dangerous than Schedule I or II. These drugs can be obtained through prescription, but generally are not available over the counter. Schedule IV: Drugs with viable medical use and low probability of use or misuse.”

Some people can get addicted and misuse it, but most don’t. I think this is a good step. I think it is okay to require getting prescriptions. Maybe crime will drop when people can buy it legally. It would be even better if a prescription isn’t needed. States can still outlaw it if they want, but feds should stop criminalizing it.

 

[samiam5211]

I don't want to hear that they "want" to do it.

Do or not do, there is no want.

 

[CoolBrees]

Per the Reuter's article I posted on the mothership, The HHS director wrote the DEA and formally requested that they remove it from Sch 1 and remand it to Schedule 3.

Schedule 3 allows Federal Banking as it would be treated as a controlled pharmaceutical. That is probably the biggest piece imo.

 

[samiam5211]

Per the Reuter's article I posted on the mothership, The HHS director wrote the DEA and formally requested that they remove it from Sch 1 and remand it to Schedule 3.

Schedule 3 allows Federal Banking as it would be treated as a controlled pharmaceutical. That is probably the biggest piece imo.

I just want them to stop testing federal employees for it. I'm hoping that moving it to III might kick that off.

I don't think they test for anything else that is schedule III.

 

[CoolBrees]

I just want them to stop testing federal employees for it. I'm hoping that moving it to III might kick that off.

I don't think they test for anything else that is schedule III.

It is actually against the law to pre-employment, or random employment, drug screen for Sch 3.

Under certain circumstances you can drug screen post accident for some. But it has to be for cause - like you were driving a forklift and fell asleep and ran into a truck bay, the investigation can ask of certain Sch 3 that explicitly state you cannot perform the function while on the medication (ie do not operate heavy machinery...)

I would bet they will fight to keep the post accident carve out which could get hairy fast imo.

 

[brandon]

I spent quite a few years working in pharmacy. Schedule III is also probably not appropriate. Schedule III is where Vicodin, Lortab, codeine, and Norco reside, all major parts of the opiod epidemic, and all highly addictive.

Schedule IV is the correct classification, but it's probably a bridge too far to move a (wrongly classified) Schedule I to Schedule IV.

 

[zztop]

It should have never been made illegal in the first place. There was a time when it was perfectly legal to use, until it wasn't. There is strong evidence that it was all because of racism (where it targeted mostly minorities and people of color) and also coincided with a push to call it by some foreign-non-american-sounding name.

 

[zztop]

Per the Reuter's article I posted on the mothership, The HHS director wrote the DEA and formally requested that they remove it from Sch 1 and remand it to Schedule 3.

Schedule 3 allows Federal Banking as it would be treated as a controlled pharmaceutical. That is probably the biggest piece imo.

yep, good step for small business owners:

"...But because cannabis businesses are not federally legal, they are subject to a federal tax code that prohibits narcotics traffickers from taking typical tax exemptions for business expenses like salaries and benefits. That code does not apply to Schedule III, so if the DEA approved HHS’ recommendation, cannabis businesses around the country would immediately be paying much less in federal taxes."

 

[MT15]

It should have never been made illegal in the first place. There was a time when it was perfectly legal to use, until it wasn't. There is strong evidence that it was all because of racism (where it targeted mostly minorities and people of color) and also coincided with a push to call it by some foreign-non-american-sounding name.

Do not underestimate how much young people in general were hated during that time (pretty much most people Nixon‘s age). Yes, weed was made illegal to get back at black activists and “dirty hippies”.

When my husband was young - 15-20ish - he played in a rock band and had shoulder length hair. Always subject to being called names when running in to anyone his dad’s age out in public. They felt pretty entitled to express their opinion, lol.

 

[samiam5211]

Do not underestimate how much young people in general were hated during that time (pretty much most people Nixon‘s age). Yes, weed was made illegal to get back at black activists and “dirty hippies”.

When my husband was young - 15-20ish - he played in a rock band and had shoulder length hair. Always subject to being called names when running in to anyone his dad’s age out in public. They felt pretty entitled to express their opinion, lol.

It's hard to talk pot smokers in to going to war.

 

[zztop]

12 US Senators Say Cannabis Should Be Descheduled, Demand Transparency From DEA

The dozen Democrats requested responses to six questions regarding the DEA’s rescheduling process.

www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com

the U.S. House passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act via a 220-204 vote in April 2022, but the Senate never acted on the legislation that would have federally legalized cannabis by removing it from the CSA.

So, while the authority to deschedule cannabis also exists through the legislative process—just as Congress showed when it legalized hemp through the 2018 Farm Bill—congressional leaders are now demanding it be done by the DEA instead

 

[zztop]

I don't understand the purpose of this

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-vp-harris-talk-marijuana-reform-white-house-friday-2024-03-15/

Harris will convene a roundtable discussion with Fat Joe, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, White House Director of Public Engagement Steve Benjamin and others

 

[SFIDC3]

It's hard to talk pot smokers in to going to war.

Not so sure about that, times change.....military personnel are actually a huge proponent of legalizing weed.....See the state of MT.....couldn't be redder if they tried.....weed is totally legal due to the military personnel lobby.....

 

[samiam5211]

Not so sure about that, times change.....military personnel are actually a huge proponent of legalizing weed.....See the state of MT.....couldn't be redder if they tried.....weed is totally legal due to the military personnel lobby.....

That is absolutely true, but most of the people i served in the military already weren't too eager to go to war. We just needed a good job and money for college.

 

[SFIDC3]

That is absolutely true, but most of the people i served in the military already weren't too eager to go to war. We just needed a good job and money for college.

I hear that....most rational folks aren't eager to get shot at.....

 

[zztop]

US poised to ease restrictions on marijuana in historic shift, but it'll remain controlled substance

In a historic shift, the U.S. moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, AP sources say.

apnews.com

However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

...It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids, following a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department. After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule.

 

[zztop]

What a slow process

Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift

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

apnews.com

The Drug Enforcement Administration will take public comment on the proposal to move marijuana away from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids.

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