It is reclassifying the drug as less dangerous.
By Catholics for Catholics
The Department of Justice is lessening federal restrictions on medical marijuana products licensed by states, reclassifying them as less perilous substances in another big step toward changing federal policy around a drug that has been rigorously controlled at the federal level for decades.
Todd Blanche, the Acting Attorney General signed an order on April 23 that relocates marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration or licensed for medical use by states, according to a story by Newsmax.
Still, the order does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law. However, it does alter the way it’s regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I — reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III.
Medical marijuana operators will have a major tax break and the order will ease some barriers to researching cannabis.
The Trump administration also said it was jump-starting the process for reclassifying marijuana more broadly, setting a hearing to begin in late June.
Though marijuana activists see the new order as a major victory, the Trump administration’s decision drew contempt from legalization foe Kevin Sabet, the chief executive of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. He said that while marijuana research is needed, “there are many ways to increase our knowledge without giving a tax break to Big Weed and sending a confusing message about marijuana’s harms to the American public.”
“With this move, we are now confronted with the most pro-drug administration in our history,” Sabet said in a text message. “Policy is now being dictated by marijuana CEOs, psychedelics investors, and podcasters in active addiction.”
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