OPINION
When it comes to marijuana policy, it’s time for the Trump administration to do what the feckless Biden administration couldn’t, and wouldn’t.
I’m of course talking about moving marijuana out of the dark ages and into the reality of the present tense and that means, quite simply, moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
What does that mean exactly?
Even though marijuana is legal under state law for all adults in 24 states and is legal for those with various medical conditions under state law in 40 out of 50 states, the federal government still categorizes marijuana in the same way as we do for illegal fentanyl, heroin and LSD.
“Schedule I” means the substance in question has no accepted medical value based on current scientific evidence and medical consensus.
That clearly is no longer the case.
But keeping marijuana a Schedule I drug has terrible side effects that hurt even those opposed to any legalization.
With widespread use at the state level, scientific research is heavily restricted.
That’s crazy.
Both advocates and opponents should always want to learn more.
It also means medical cannabis patients can be denied life saving medical help (as in denial of organ transplants), can be evicted from HUD housing, or can be denied visitation of their children — all for doing something for medical reasons that is legal at the state level for a majority of adult Americans.
I strongly oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana — but I just as strongly believe that medical research into its use is needed to understand how to make cannabis safer or to expand our understanding of both long-term and short-term effects of usage, especially for underage users!
The Schedule I designation prevents that.
It also forces American businesses operating legally under state law to be treated like Mexican drug cartels.
We take their tax dollars, but they cannot take legitimate tax deductions for necessary business expenses.
No matter how I personally feel about the issue, in these states where voters have spoken, the business is up and running and should be treated like any other business.
Moving marijuana out of the dark ages and into current reality also means we can better regulate sales and distribution, we can monitor the safety of products, and we can take more affirmative actions to educate and protect children from using cannabis products just like we do for alcohol products.
Let me be clear about what rescheduling does not do.
It does not make marijuana legal at the state level in states where it is currently illegal or where IT’S restricted to just patients with medical conditions.
Nor does it expand usage in any way.
Frankly, if it did, I would be strongly opposed to rescheduling it.
I noted above that the prior disaster of an administration began the process of moving to reschedule marijuana but like many things coming from the Biden administration, they simply failed to follow through.
They held hearings and over 90% of those commenting on rescheduling stood in support of this sensible move, but at the end of the day, nothing happened.
They must have not been able to find the autopen in time.
The current administration under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump has shown a willingness to modernize the federal government, make it more efficient and to take bold steps to protect Americans.
I am proud to be helping make that happen in Congress.
The time to reschedule marijuana is now and frankly, it makes no sense to wait any longer. Rescheduling marijuana from I to III is not only the smart thing to do, it is the right thing to do.
Randy Fine Represents the Sixth Congressional District of Florida in the United States House of Representatives.
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