The story of dramatic political polarization in America today is mainly entirely true. Americans agree on very little, save a few cross-partisan issues ranging from infrastructure spending to medical marijuana. A staggering 88% of Americans favor legal access to medical marijuana, but federal policy has not caught up. In fact, while support solidifies with voters, many lawmakers have stayed put or shifted toward even more restrictive policies that limit patient access and investment by legitimate operators.
Donald Trump made waves in the last leg of his 2024 campaign by expressing support for backing a ballot measure in Florida that would have legalized recreational use and possession, but the measure failed. Trump did so while saying he backed “research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana†and reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III controlled substance.
That disconnect speaks to the divide in America over marijuana. Trump’s then-vice-presidential pick, J.D. Vance, was on Joe Rogan’s podcast, feigning ignorance on the issue outside of his distaste for the smell in public places. Lumping together people’s concerns about recreational use with medical use and research tends to be a non-starter.
Decoupling the two begins in Washington at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the attorney general’s office, all of which hold the authority to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III controlled substance.
Currently, marijuana is relegated to Schedule I status, the most severe, restrictive classification under the Controlled Substances Act, along with heroin and LSD. The reason for this designation is based on the outdated idea that marijuana has no recognized medical use and a potential for abuse on par with heroin.
This is another disconnect between the views of people on the regulation of most drugs. The differences between these substances are intuitive and well-understood.
HHS conducted a review in August 2023, which acknowledged marijuana’s medical use and lower potential for abuse compared to other Schedule I substances before recommending that marijuana be moved to a Schedule III substance. This led to the DEA proposing a rule reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III substance, but procedural delays have left the matter in limbo.
Politics and the changing of the guard in Washington are likely culprits.
Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III controlled substance would be a formal acknowledgment of what Americans already believe, which is that marijuana is misclassified, demand for medical marijuana is high, and that federal drug policy needs a dose of realism.
The effects of rescheduling would immensely benefit consumers needing access and the legitimate businesses looking to serve them. As a Schedule I controlled substance, medical marijuana companies are prohibited from claiming certain business tax deductions. Even if companies comply with state laws, they’ll pay double or triple taxes compared to other industries due to the federal classification.
Naturally, those costs get passed to the consumer through higher prices and fewer options. There’s no getting around the fact that marijuana is a sensitive substance, and especially for medical purposes, you’d want to see competition and innovation in that market to meet different patients’ unique needs.
Any regulatory certainty would allow researchers, businesses and entrepreneurs to engage and make it more dynamic. Of course, the ultimate good is a system that benefits patients.
As a Schedule III controlled substance, medical marijuana will be better regulated for quality, in addition to greater accessibility. Patients could work more closely with researchers and their doctors to pick the right products rather than being alone to figure it out.
To be clear, reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III controlled substance does not federally legalize marijuana. The point would be to clear the way for incremental reforms that make the law more coherent and workable for states hashing out their policies.
The timing could not be better for the administration to make this a reality. The political tangles of full marijuana legalization will likely always be a bit messy. Far from being dramatic, HHS and DEA collaborating to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III substance is a pragmatic move.
For the sake of patients and researchers looking for clarity on medical marijuana, Washington needs to stop dragging its feet and start streamlining meaningful reform.
Elizabeth Hicks is a policy analyst with the Consumer Choice Center. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.
