Biden’s Level III marijuana rule?
The Justice Department submitted to the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking initiating a formal rulemaking process to consider moving marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug. What does that mean?
To reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug is a shift of American drug policy that could have wide effects across the country. The current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD, moves pot to Schedule III, with some examples of Schedule III drugs being ketamine, buprenorphine, anabolic steroids and Tylenol with codeine.
“The approved cannabinoids are oral or sublingual spray preparations, whereas marijuana is used predominantly by smoking or vaporizing, a rapid form of brain delivery acknowledged to be a route of administration with higher addiction potential,” says Bertha K Madras, Ph.D.
She has spent 60 years studying drugs, starting with LSD at Allen Memorial Institute of Psychiatry, saying, “It’s a political decision, not a scientific one.”
It’s similar to “alcoholism,” and she says “one or two drinks will only cause mild inebriation, while most people who use marijuana are using it to become intoxicated and get high.” Also, “alcohol and marijuana both interfere with driving, but with the former there are no ‘medical cutoff points’ to determine if it’s safe to get behind the wheel.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland throws the full weight of the Justice Department behind the move and appears to signal its importance to President Biden’s administration.
Robert Meale
Crystal Lake