Last week, President Biden made headlines by formally announcing his administration's proposal to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 drug. The proposal is not a final decision, but instead kicks off a process that could last for months or years before a final decision is made.
Rescheduling is a big headline, but as we've sought as the Humboldt County Growers Alliance to understand what it would really mean, we've found that in many ways it raises more questions than answers; and that the real question may be what happens after a rescheduling decision, even more so than the legal impact of the decision itself.
Currently, cannabis is classified as a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin and LSD, indicating that the federal government considers it to have no medical value and a high potential for abuse. If moved to Schedule 3, cannabis would be classified alongside substances like ketamine and anabolic steroids which are considered to have both some medical value, and some potential for abuse.
Notably, a Schedule 3 classification would be entirely different from the way the federal government classifies alcohol and tobacco, both of which are fully "descheduled," i.e. not listed on the schedule of controlled substances at all. While most people would agree that both alcohol and tobacco have abuse potential — and therefore, from a legal perspective, would normally be scheduled as a controlled substance — Congress has passed laws that specifically exempt both alcohol and tobacco from the Controlled Substances Act.
Read more at times-standard.com