geoff: The department of health
and human services is
recommending a major change in
the way the federal government
treats marijuana, but stops
short of saying it should be
decriminalized under federal
law.
John yang has the details.
John: Geoff, the recommendation
is part of a review president
Biden ordered last year.
HHS says marijuana should no
longer be a schedule one
controlled substance like heroin
and lsd, which the law defines
as having no accepted medical
use and a high potential for
abuse.
Instead, HHS says the drug
enforcement administration
should classify marijuana as a
schedule three substance,
defined as having a lower
potential for abuse.
Other class III substances
include anabolic steroids and
painkillers with small amounts
of codeine.
Dea, part of the justice
department, will have the final
say on this.
Natalie Fertig covers federal
cannabis policy for politico.
I want to underscore, they are
not recommending
decriminalization, right?
>> Correct.
It would not remove the federal
prohibition on cannabis.
John: Some restrictions would
remain?
>> Yes.
A schedule three drug is still
overseen by the Dea.
John: What would be the biggest
practical effects of this?
>> The cannabis industry has
been hard-hit in the last few
years.
The federal tax code prohibits
cannabis from being able to
write off a lot of business
expenses.
If it was removed to schedule
three, it would no longer be a
problem for them and the
cannabis industry would be
suddenly be able to keep a lot
more of their money.
It could have a huge impact.
John: What about for the people
who want to use it
recreationally?
>> This does not change that or
decriminalized federally but
almost half the country at this
point has now legalized cannabis
for recreational use and where
than half the country for
medical use.
State laws will probably stay
the same.
What will happen is will the fda
decide to enforce cannabis the
way they do codeine or ketamine?
It could make huge changes but
people I spoke to said it is not
an expectation right now.
This is early days and we are
still waiting to see what the
Dea does and how the fda will
choose to enforce it.
John: There are 23 states and
D.C. Where small amounts of
recreational marijuana are
legal.
Would this change anything in
the other states?
>> States are still at liberty
to continue moving forward with
ballot measures and legislative
attempts to legalize medical or
recreational.
If the fda decides to change the
way they have been enforcing
cannabis, which they have
enforcement over it as a
schedule one drug right now come
up they have been hands in those
situations so they could decide
to come in and say we are going
to change our approach for state
regulated markets, and then that
might make other states pause
and not go ahead and legalize.
But right now, until we learn
more from the federal
government, it is business as
usual.
John: This is a recommendation.
What happens next?
>> The Dea does there review of
the fda and HHS recommendation.
That could take a month or six
months.
Before the letter came to light
yesterday we were hearing we
would get into the process with
the very broad range of
somewhere between this fall and
next spring.
I do not know personally what
the HHS letter means for that
process, if it will speed it up
or if it will be what happens.
Once we get the fda decision, we
will know what comes next.
John: What has been the reaction
to the HHS letter from groups
that advocate drug legalization
and groups who are fighting
against drug abuse?
>> The industry is excited
because of the tax code change.
Drug advocates have been less
excited.
Because what the reschedule
would not impact is criminal
code.
It would not mean any major
changes to federal criminality
of cannabis so they are saying,
Biden administration in the 2020
election, you said no one should
be in jail for cannabis.
This would not make a major
difference to that.
The antidrug groups are saying
this makes people see cannabis
as less harmful or potentially
abusive.
So no one is happy.
John: [Laughter]
Natalie, thank you very much.
>> Thank you for having me.
♪♪