9-02-2023 3:23pm

Recreational and Medicinal use of Marijuana

Anita Johnson-Brown Editor

Many states have legalized both recreational and medicinal use of marijuana in recent years. However, despite this trend, the federal government has continued to classify cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

This category includes narcotics such as heroin and LSD, and groups of substances having "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse".

This disagreement has led to difficulties in regulating and implementing marijuana-related laws, stifling cannabis businesses and hindering medical research. However, there is hope that this problem could momentarily change.

The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be downgraded, from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3 controlled substance.

The latter group is defined as having "a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence". This would place marijuana in the same category as ketamine, testosterone, and products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine.

HHS's recommendation was established on an evaluation by the Food and Drug Administration, which was part of an official review process.

The DEA will now conduct its review of the recommendation, which may take several months. While the final decision on whether to reschedule marijuana is up to the DEA, experts think there is a good possibility that the agency will follow the HHS's recommendation. The potential downgrade of cannabis from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3 controlled substance would send a message that marijuana is less of a public health risk than once suggested by the government. Some experts believe that this could make it easier for states to legalize and decriminalize marijuana. For states that have already legalized marijuana, the rescheduling may have a limited effect.

It would change the type of security and bureaucracy currently around federal research into the substance, and make it more effortless for companies to bring cannabis-based drugs to market. Nevertheless, it would have an inconsequential impact on the administration of state programs.

Presently, 23 states and Washington, DC have legalized recreational marijuana, while 38 states have legalized therapeutic use. While some groups that oppose marijuana legalization have condemned the HHS's recommendation, some supporters think that the rescheduling does not go far enough and marijuana should be removed, from the controlled substances list entirely.

By Anita Johnson-Brown