(NEXSTAR) — In a major shift, marijuana could be reclassified as a less dangerous drug in the U.S., sources told the Associated Press on Tuesday. The decision could have a ripple effect throughout the country, already pocketed with varying legalization laws.
Last fall, federal health officials recommended reclassifying marijuana. According to The Associated Press, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is expected to move toward reclassification.
The proposal still needs to be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, according to the AP, but would mark the last significant regulatory hurdle before the DEA’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect.
If the DEA reclassifies marijuana, will that make it legal nationwide?
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The short answer is not exactly.
Currently, marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance, which means the DEA considers it without a “currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Heroin and LSD are also classified as Schedule I drugs.
In September, the Department of Health and Human Services reportedly provided the DEA with findings and a recommendation to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug. Ketamine and some anabolic steroids are Schedule III substances, which have a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”
Even if marijuana is rescheduled, it would still be a controlled substance that’s subject to federal rules and regulations. More importantly, rescheduling does not decriminalize marijuana or make it legal for recreational use on the federal level.
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Instead, the DEA’s proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. Becoming a Schedule III drug would make it easier for research to be done on marijuana as well.
It would also potentially cut the federal taxes that companies pay. Under the federal tax code, businesses involved in “trafficking” in marijuana or any other Schedule I or II drug can’t deduct rent, payroll or various other expenses that other businesses can write off. (Yes, at least some cannabis businesses, particularly state-licensed ones, do pay taxes to the federal government, despite its prohibition on marijuana.) Industry groups say the tax rate often ends up at 70% or more.
For now, not much is changing. Once OMB signs off on DEA’s proposal, the agency would take public comment on the plan. After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule.
Nationwide, 38 states have already legalized medical marijuana while 24 have approved it for recreational use.
The immediate effect of rescheduling on the nation’s criminal justice system would also likely be more muted, since federal prosecutions for simple possession have been fairly rare in recent years.
But loosening restrictions could carry a host of unintended consequences in the drug war and beyond.
Critics point out that as a Schedule III drug, marijuana would remain regulated by the DEA. That means the roughly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the U.S. would have to register with the DEA like regular pharmacies and fulfill strict reporting requirements, something that they are loath to do and that the DEA is ill equipped to handle
Then there’s the United States’ international treaty obligations, chief among them the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which requires the criminalization of cannabis. In 2016, during the Obama administration, the DEA cited the U.S.’ international obligations and the findings of a federal court of appeals in Washington in denying a similar request to reschedule marijuana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
