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Biden administration plans to reclassify mar1juana, easing restrictions nationwide

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Reeko, Apr 30, 2024.

  1. Reeko

    Reeko Member

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    The Biden administration will take a historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis, with plans to announce an interim rule soon reclassifying the drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted more than 50 years ago, four sources with knowledge of the decision tell NBC News.

    The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that mar1juana should be reclassified from the most strict Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III, marking the first time that the U.S. government would acknowledge its potential medical benefits and begin studying them in earnest.


    Attorney General Merrick Garland submittedthe rescheduling proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday afternoon, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to NBC News.

    Any reclassification is still months from going into effect. After the proposal is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period. The proposal will then be reviewed by an administrative law judge, who could decide to hold a hearing before the rule is approved.

    What rescheduling means
    Since 1971, mar1juana has been in the same category as heroin, methamphetamines and LSD. Each substance under the Schedule I classification is defined as a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule III substances include Tylenol with codeine, steroids and testosterone.

    By rescheduling cannabis, the drug would now be studied and researched to identify concrete medical benefits, opening the door for pharmaceutical companies to get involved with the sale and distribution of medical mar1juana in states where it is legal.

    For the $34 billion cannabis industry, the move would also eliminate significant tax burdens for businesses in states where the drug is legal, notably getting rid of the Internal Revenue Service's code Section 280E which currently prohibits legal cannabis companies from deducting what would otherwise be ordinary business expenses.

    The Department of Justice’s rescheduling decision could also help shrink the black market which has thrived despite legalization in states like New York and California and has undercut legal markets that are fiercely regulated and highly taxed.

    Years in the making
    President Joe Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services in October of 2022 to review mar1juana’s classification. Federal scientists concluded that there is credible evidence that cannabis provides medical benefits and that it poses lower health risks than other controlled substances.

    Biden even made history at the State of the Union address this year, for the first time referencing mar1juana from the dais in the House chamber and making note of the federal review process. “No one should be jailed for using or possessing mar1juana,” the president said during the speech.

    When Biden served as vice president in former President Barack Obama’s administration, the White House was opposed to any legalization of mar1juana because it would “pose significant health and safety risks to all Americans.”

    Jim Cole, who served as deputy attorney general in the Obama administration authored the now infamous Cole Memo in 2013 which paved the way for the modern mar1juana market. The memo scaled back federal intervention in states that legalized mar1juana, as long as they implemented “strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems to control the cultivation, distribution, sale and possession of mar1juana.”

    Cole, who is now a member of the National Cannabis Roundtable, told NBC News in an interview this week that reclassifying mar1juana to Schedule III would “open up the ability to actually test it and put it in a laboratory without all of the restrictive measures” of a Schedule I drug.

    Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to mar1juana and a former Obama Administration advisor, said that the decision to reclassify mar1juana is "the result of a politicized process," arguing that it "will be devastating for America’s kids, who will be bombarded with attractive advertising and promotion of kid-friendly pot products."

    "The only winner here is the mar1juana industry, who will receive a new tax break and thus widen their profit margins," said Sabet. “Reclassifying mar1juana as a Schedule III drug sends the message that mar1juana is less addictive and dangerous now than ever before. In reality, today’s highly potent, super strength mar1juana is more addictive and linked with psychosis and other mental illnesses, IQ loss, and other problems.”

    Researchers have raised concerns about high-potency mar1juana and cannabis-induced psychiatric disorders, particularly young men.

    more at the link

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/jo...y-mar1juana-easing-restrictions-na-rcna149424
     
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  2. CCorn

    CCorn Member

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    Good move.
     
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  3. LosPollosHermanos

    Supporting Member

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  4. ThatBoyNick

    ThatBoyNick Member

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    Ugly move
     
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  5. astros123

    astros123 Member

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    Virgins
     
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  6. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    Virginia is for lovers.
     
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  7. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    The whole thing needs a revamp as it’s obviously mostly based on politics and medical understanding that at least half a century old.

    LSD and Molly need to move to schedule III as well since they uses in treating mental and addiction issues.

    On that note, alcohol should be schedule I since there are zero medical uses that I know of (not going to happen, I know)

    Schedule I

    Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mar1juana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote.

    Schedule II

    Schedule II drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous. Some examples of Schedule II drugs are: combination products with less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone per dosage unit (Vicodin), cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (OxyContin), fentanyl, Dexedrine, Adderall, and Ritalin

    Schedule III

    Schedule III drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Schedule III drugs abuse potential is less than Schedule I and Schedule II drugs but more than Schedule IV. Some examples of Schedule III drugs are: products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with codeine), ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone

    Schedule IV

    Schedule IV drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence. Some examples of Schedule IV drugs are: Xanax, Soma, Darvon, Darvocet, Valium, Ativan, Talwin, Ambien, Tramadol

    Schedule V

    Schedule V drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with lower potential for abuse than Schedule IV and consist of preparations containing limited quantities of certain narcotics. Schedule V drugs are generally used for antidiarrheal, antitussive, and analgesic purposes. Some examples of Schedule V drugs are: cough preparations with less than 200 milligrams of codeine or per 100 milliliters (Robitussin AC), Lomotil, Motofen, Lyrica, Parepectolin
    Again, **** the police-prison industrial complex. It’s ruined so many millions of lives.
     
    #7 Xerobull, May 1, 2024
    Last edited: May 1, 2024
  8. rocketsjudoka

    rocketsjudoka Member

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    Long overdue.
     
  9. No Worries

    No Worries Member

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    Sign me up!

    [​IMG]
     
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  10. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    Good for freeing up space in our prisons... bad for productivity and society at large. I'm fine with legalizing mar1juana, I just don't want to promote its recreational use (true medicinal use is fine). People should get their fulfillment and enjoyment out of life without resorting to drug usage. People should find meaningful ways to achieve self-actualization. Drugs get in the way.
     
  11. couple of d's

    couple of d's Member

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  12. Nook

    Nook Member

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    mar1juana is a really over-rated drug.

    If someone wants to smoke it at their home - whatever, I don't care. I just find the culture and mythos around it overdone.

    If you are going to do drugs - then do real drugs.

    If you want to be a weekend warrior or recreational user - that is what cocaine is for.
     
  13. ThatBoyNick

    ThatBoyNick Member

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    Look son, your lack of culture isn’t the rest of the worlds fault.
     
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  14. Xopher

    Xopher Member

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    So you're fine with banning alcohol?
     
  15. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

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    The issue, like any other partisan issue, is that everyone talks extremes. Of course we shouldn't jail, fine and harass someone for using, thus causing them long term harm. But we don't need dispensaries on every corner, making it super accessible. We already do that with guns .... tell me how that's working out.
     
  16. Nook

    Nook Member

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    We are on the same page. I don't think we should encourage it and that is essentially what is happening. The other issue not being discussed is that the Mexican cartels own a lot of the dispensaries. They are funding front men to purchase and get the license and then they takeover.
     
  17. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    How will this affect the legality of mar1juana dispensaries where mar1juana is legal at the state level? I remember a big issue was that banks wouldn’t touch their money.
     
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  18. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Atomic Playboy
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    Real talk.
     
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  19. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Member
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    Do real drugs. Get addicted to heroin. Rob a church. Use the money to buy more fentanyl. Kill the clown that’s under your covers. Realize the clown wasn’t real. Use crack cocaine to ease the sorrow. Punch a police horse. Use Tranq. Eat a lightbulb.

    Snort cocaine. Post about how everyone is a leftist and a demon. Or a Muslim.
    Pray for forgiveness. Run because the church called the cops. Have an active warrant. Change your gender. Smoke crystal meth. Post more on Clutch Fans about how it was better in 99.
     
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  20. Francis3422

    Francis3422 Member

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    Problem with cocaine is it all sucks. A largely successful 38-year-old male and once or so every couple months I do some Coke with friends, but it’s just trash here.

    of us ate mushrooms together for the first time in about 15 years the other day and that was quite crazy.
     
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