Global Ganja Report

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Dec. 18 to accelerate the reclassification of marijuana, a move that would ease decades-old restrictions that have classified the drug alongside heroin as having no accepted medical value.

The US Controlled Substances Act ranks drugs along a five-tier spectrum based on their potential for abuse and recognized medical value. Schedule I drugs are those with a high likelihood of abuse, no accepted medical use, and considerable health risks even when administered under medical supervision. Since 1970, marijuana has been listed alongside heroin as a Schedule I drug. Schedule V drugs are those with accepted medical uses and a relatively low likelihood of abuse.

Inclusion in Schedule I makes it comparatively difficult for medical researchers to study marijuana, which has been widely used for the treatment of nausea, pain and other maladies for many decades.

Drug reclassification under the Controlled Substances Act requires a lengthy administrative process involving scientific review, public comment, and public hearings if requested.

President Joe Biden initiated the process in 2022, asking the Health Secretary and the Attorney General to review marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug. "This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine—the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic," Biden said at the time. Reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I would remove bureaucratic hurdles that slow the efforts of medical researchers.

In 2023, Department of Health & Human Services recommended reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug—one with some accepted medical uses and relatively low abuse potential. The Justice Department issued a proposed rule for the reclassification in May 2024. That proposal received some 43,000 public comments, with some 70% supporting not only rescheduling but the descheduling, decriminalization or legalization of marijuana at the federal level. The next step will be an administrative hearing.

The process has never been used to reschedule a Schedule I drug as widely used as marijuana. Marijuana—increasingly known by its scientific name cannabis—is legal for medical use in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and for recreational use in 24. Daily or near-daily marijuana use has surpassed daily or near-daily alcohol use for US adults across the country.

Trump's order does not immediately reschedule the drug but instructs the Justice Department to complete the pending rule-making process "in the most expeditious manner" allowed by federal law. The change could also be effected by an act of Congress.

From JURIST, Dec.15. Used with permission.

Graphic: Herbal Remedies

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