Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on Tuesday will introduce a bill that would legalize medical marijuana at the federal level.
The bill would reclassify marijuana in the federal scheduling system from schedule 1 to 2.
The bill would also permanently prohibit the federal government from shutting down medical marijuana operations in states where pot is legal for medicinal purposes.
The bill is the first time in history the Senate will consider allowing medical pot, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
A Senate aide, who walked me through the proposal, said the bill would prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies from intervening in states' medical marijuana laws. Since states began enacting their own medical marijuana laws, the DEA has regularly raided and shut down state-legal medical marijuana dispensaries, because pot remains illegal for all purposes under federal law.
A spending deal attempted to end federal interference in December, but the provision in that deal wasn't permanent. Neither the spending deal nor the new bill prevents federal agencies from intervening with states' marijuana legalization laws, although the Obama administration has deprioritized the enforcement of pot prohibition in states where the drug is legal.
The Paul-Booker-Gillibrand proposal also goes further than the spending deal by reclassifying marijuana from schedule 1 to 2. Under schedule 1, the federal government considers marijuana to have no medical value and some potential for abuse. Under schedule 2, the feds would acknowledge marijuana has some medical value but a high potential for abuse. So the bill would force the federal government to acknowledge marijuana's medical value for the first time.
The bill would also attempt to unlock more marijuana-related research. It would require the attorney general, acting through the DEA, to issue at least three licenses to FDA-approved research institutions for pot-related studies. And it would eliminate the Public Health Service review for marijuana research, which can sometimes add months or even years to a study's approval time.
The Senate aide said the bill was necessary in light of movement at the state level to legalize medical marijuana and recommendations from several medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, to reschedule the drug to allow for more research. It's an attempt, in other words, to bring the federal government in line with a growing number of states and medical groups.
How Does The Federal Government Classify Marijuana?
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, meaning it's perceived to have no medical value and some risk of abuse.
The classification puts marijuana in the same category as heroin and a more restrictive category than schedule 2 drugs like cocaine and meth. But that doesn't necessarily mean the federal government views marijuana and heroin as equally deadly drugs, or that it considers marijuana to be deadlier than meth or cocaine.
The biggest distinction between schedule 1 and 2 substances is whether the federal government thinks a drug has medical value. The DEA says schedule 2 substances have some medical value and schedule 1 substances do not, so the latter receive more regulatory scrutiny, even though they may not be more dangerous.
It may be helpful to think of the scheduling system as made up of two distinct groups: non-medical and medical. The non-medical group is the schedule 1 drugs, which are considered to have no medical value but aren't numerically ranked based on abuse potential. The medical group is the schedule 2 to 5 drugs, which have some medical value and are numerically ranked based on abuse potential.
Still, the classification has serious ramifications for marijuana policy, even in places where state law says pot is legal. State-legal marijuana businesses, for instance, must function as cash-only businesses largely as a result of prohibition, and they can't file for several deductions and, as a result, their income tax rates can soar to as high as 70 percent.
The schedule is not something the president could change alone, but the administration, through the attorney general or secretary of health and human services, can begin a review process for the current schedule.
A review of marijuana's schedule is currently underway, but it's unclear how long the review will take and whether it will result in a reclassification. To date, there have been no large-scale clinical trials on marijuana. Those kinds of studies are traditionally required to prove marijuana has medical value to the federal government. (Part of the problem, however, is that the federal government's scheduling of marijuana makes it more difficult to study the drug for medical uses.)
Congress can also pass legislation to reschedule marijuana, which is something legalization advocates have been lobbying legislators to do for a long time.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: For first time, the Senate will consider legalizing medical marijuana - Vox
Author: German Lopez
Contact: german.lopez@vox.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Vox
The bill would reclassify marijuana in the federal scheduling system from schedule 1 to 2.
The bill would also permanently prohibit the federal government from shutting down medical marijuana operations in states where pot is legal for medicinal purposes.
The bill is the first time in history the Senate will consider allowing medical pot, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
A Senate aide, who walked me through the proposal, said the bill would prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies from intervening in states' medical marijuana laws. Since states began enacting their own medical marijuana laws, the DEA has regularly raided and shut down state-legal medical marijuana dispensaries, because pot remains illegal for all purposes under federal law.
A spending deal attempted to end federal interference in December, but the provision in that deal wasn't permanent. Neither the spending deal nor the new bill prevents federal agencies from intervening with states' marijuana legalization laws, although the Obama administration has deprioritized the enforcement of pot prohibition in states where the drug is legal.
The Paul-Booker-Gillibrand proposal also goes further than the spending deal by reclassifying marijuana from schedule 1 to 2. Under schedule 1, the federal government considers marijuana to have no medical value and some potential for abuse. Under schedule 2, the feds would acknowledge marijuana has some medical value but a high potential for abuse. So the bill would force the federal government to acknowledge marijuana's medical value for the first time.
The bill would also attempt to unlock more marijuana-related research. It would require the attorney general, acting through the DEA, to issue at least three licenses to FDA-approved research institutions for pot-related studies. And it would eliminate the Public Health Service review for marijuana research, which can sometimes add months or even years to a study's approval time.
The Senate aide said the bill was necessary in light of movement at the state level to legalize medical marijuana and recommendations from several medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, to reschedule the drug to allow for more research. It's an attempt, in other words, to bring the federal government in line with a growing number of states and medical groups.
How Does The Federal Government Classify Marijuana?
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, meaning it's perceived to have no medical value and some risk of abuse.
The classification puts marijuana in the same category as heroin and a more restrictive category than schedule 2 drugs like cocaine and meth. But that doesn't necessarily mean the federal government views marijuana and heroin as equally deadly drugs, or that it considers marijuana to be deadlier than meth or cocaine.
The biggest distinction between schedule 1 and 2 substances is whether the federal government thinks a drug has medical value. The DEA says schedule 2 substances have some medical value and schedule 1 substances do not, so the latter receive more regulatory scrutiny, even though they may not be more dangerous.
It may be helpful to think of the scheduling system as made up of two distinct groups: non-medical and medical. The non-medical group is the schedule 1 drugs, which are considered to have no medical value but aren't numerically ranked based on abuse potential. The medical group is the schedule 2 to 5 drugs, which have some medical value and are numerically ranked based on abuse potential.
Still, the classification has serious ramifications for marijuana policy, even in places where state law says pot is legal. State-legal marijuana businesses, for instance, must function as cash-only businesses largely as a result of prohibition, and they can't file for several deductions and, as a result, their income tax rates can soar to as high as 70 percent.
The schedule is not something the president could change alone, but the administration, through the attorney general or secretary of health and human services, can begin a review process for the current schedule.
A review of marijuana's schedule is currently underway, but it's unclear how long the review will take and whether it will result in a reclassification. To date, there have been no large-scale clinical trials on marijuana. Those kinds of studies are traditionally required to prove marijuana has medical value to the federal government. (Part of the problem, however, is that the federal government's scheduling of marijuana makes it more difficult to study the drug for medical uses.)
Congress can also pass legislation to reschedule marijuana, which is something legalization advocates have been lobbying legislators to do for a long time.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: For first time, the Senate will consider legalizing medical marijuana - Vox
Author: German Lopez
Contact: german.lopez@vox.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Vox
