Expert weighs in on impact of Drug Enforcement Administration's move to reclassify marijuana
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will reportedly move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
The move could take months to take effect, but people are already wondering what the change would mean.
"This is really big but not necessarily for the reasons that people think," said William Roark, a lawyer and adjunct professor focusing on cannabis law and regulation.
The DEA wants to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. The proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the most dangerous drugs.
Experts said the change isn't clear-cut.
"The headline shouldn't be that everyone can go out to the corner now and ingest marijuana risk-free. What this does is this continues the long process towards getting cannabis to be treated like other substances such as alcohol," Roark said.
The Schedule III category includes drugs like Tylenol with codeine and anabolic steroids, but the move doesn't do much for decriminalization.
"The federal government has not legalized marijuana. The intent would be that it would still be a regulated substance and under the Controlled Substances Act if you're dealing in a Schedule III drug without the proper registration through the DEA you could still face some criminal prosecution. So, by no means does the rescheduling of marijuana solve the state and federal conflict we've been living in for the last umpteen years," Roark said.
It does make a difference for business.
"Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III, the federal government has removed marijuana from that particular internal revenue code section which will now enable regulated cannabis companies across the country to take their ordinary business deductions and thereby save millions of dollars a year in tax burden, which they can reinvest into their company, into the community," Roark said.
