Several mainstream media outlets are reporting that the President is contemplating directing federal agencies to downgrade marijuana’s classification under the Controlled Substances Act.
If true, this move would represent the most significant federal policy change since marijuana was initially classified as a Schedule 1 prohibited substance more than half a century ago.
However, moving cannabis’ federal classification from Schedule I to Schedule 3 does not repeal federal prohibition. It doesn’t resolve the growing conflict between federal and state cannabis laws, and it doesn’t provide any additional legal protections or guarantees for tens of millions of cannabis consumers or even the state-licensed dispensaries that serve them. And it does nothing for the people who have already been victimized by federal cannabis criminalization.
That is why we need full descheduling now. By removing cannabis completely from the Controlled Substances Act, state governments will finally have the ability to establish their own cannabis regulatory policies free from undue federal interference, and the federal government will be better able to repair the harms caused by prohibition.
