The federal government is finalizing the reclassification of cannabis. The U.S. Department of Justice published a proposed rule in the U.S. Federal Register to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and move it to Schedule III.

For over 50 years, cannabis has been classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, a classification reserved for drugs with “no medical value.” Many critics from the cannabis industry have criticized the reclassification, saying that only decriminalization is enough and that moving cannabis to Schedule III only puts it in a slightly less restrictive category.

Then on Oct. 6, 2022, President Biden asked the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to launch a review of how cannabis is classified. After receiving HHS’s recommendations last August, the Attorney General first sought legal advice from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). Then, based on the HHS’ medical and scientific determinations, and OLC’s legal advice, the Attorney General exercised his authority under the law to initiate the rulemaking process to reclassify cannabis.

The proposed rule was first announced by the DOJ Office of Public Affairs on May 16, and follows a series of recommendations and approvals.

“The Department of Justice proposes to transfer marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to schedule III of the CSA, consistent with the view of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use as well as HHS’s views about marijuana’s abuse potential and level of physical or psychological dependence,” the proposal for the federal register reads. “The CSA requires that such actions be made through formal rulemaking on the record after opportunity for a hearing.”

“If the transfer to schedule III is finalized, the regulatory controls applicable to schedule III controlled substances would apply, as appropriate, along with existing marijuana-specific requirements and any additional controls that might be implemented, including those that might be implemented to meet U.S. treaty obligations,” the proposal reads. “If marijuana is transferred into schedule III, the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, and possession of marijuana would remain subject to the applicable criminal prohibitions of the CSA. Any drugs containing a substance within the CSA’s definition of “marijuana” would also remain subject to the applicable prohibitions in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). DOJ is soliciting comments on this proposal.”

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) offered cautious enthusiasm for change, finally at the federal level.

“NORML is in a unique position to mobilize interested parties to provide their perspectives throughout the public comment period and we will be encouraging advocates and experts to do so in the coming weeks,” said NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano. “In particular, it is important that the voices of both physicians and patients are heard and considered, as the Justice Department weighed the real-world experiences of doctors and their patients in medical cannabis states when making their recommendation to reclassify.”

“Additionally, NORML will be submitting our own comprehensive comments substantiating the evidentiary record that cannabis possesses accepted medical utility and comparatively low dependence liability,” Armentano continued. “We will also be addressing a number of the issues raised by political opponents with respect to cannabis’ impact on public health, making it clear that these concerns do not warrant the continued classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance. While NORML ultimately favors descheduling rather than rescheduling, we understand that reclassification is associated with both symbolic and tangible benefits to the cannabis community, both in the short-term and the long-term.”

Public Comment Period on Reclassification Move

Now that the rule proposal has been published on the Federal Register, the public comment period will kick off and run for about 60 days.​​

The rescheduling of a controlled substance must undergo a formal rulemaking procedure that requires a notice to the public, informing them of an opportunity to comment and an administrative hearing. Then the DEA will gather and consider information and views submitted by the public, in order to make a determination. During that process, and until a final rule is published, marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance.

Comments must be submitted electronically or postmarked on or before July 22, 2024. Interested persons may file a request for a hearing or waiver of an opportunity for a hearing or to participate in a hearing pursuant to 21 CFR 1308.44 and in accordance with 21 CFR 1316.47 or 1316.49, as applicable, which must be received or postmarked on or before June 20, 2024.

The DOJ encourages that all comments be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, which provides the ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on the web page or to attach a file for lengthier comments. Individuals can go to the regulations website and follow the online instructions at that site for submitting comments.

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Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) shared that marijuana would be rescheduled from a Schedule I, meaning that the plant was classified as a substance with no accepted medical value, such as heroin, to a Schedule III, controlled substances that allow for some medical use, such as ketamine. While cannabis advocates, stoners, and anyone with the ability to reason welcomed this news (although it fell short of actually declassifying or legalizing it), just a day following the DEA announcement, a prominent group opposed to cannabis legalization already sent out an email to its supporters soliciting funds to combat the policy change.

“SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action,” the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana shared in the email sent out on Wednesday, which asked, of course, for money. 

The email came with a link to what SAM crowned a “Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund,” which seeks either one-time (or you can make that recurring, of course), monthly donations ranging from $250 to $5,000. Think of all the weed you could buy with that money! Loaded anti-cannabis haters also have the option to donate much, much more. 

If you’ve heard of SAM before, it’s because they are very vocal about what they perceive as the dangers of marijuana. The landing page on their website shares that they’re apparently trying to prevent the “next Big Tobacco,” which is just plain silly. As High Times reported, a recent study actually found that tobacco consumption has decreased in states with recreational cannabis legalization. SAM’s “About” section claims to be bipartisan and then links out to The Drudge Report. 

“Our new Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund will be used to support our challenges of marijuana laws and regulations, specifically marijuana’s Schedule III recommendation,” reads the donation page.

“Let’s be clear: this does not mean marijuana is legalized—it will remain federally illegal,” the email reads (yes, unfortunately, they are right about this). “But, if implemented, moving marijuana to Schedule III would give Big Marijuana billions in tax write-offs as well as continue the normalization of high-potency THC drugs. SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action.”

They are absolutely right about the tax write-off; it’s one of the biggest wins regarding the descheduling announcement. As business is set up now, it’s incredibly hard for cannabis companies to turn a profit. The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) anticipates that reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III will alleviate some of the harsh effects of tax code 280E on thousands of state-legal cannabis enterprises. The Legal Intelligencer notes that this change would eliminate the current restrictions on tax deductions that 280E imposes. 

As for the high THC concern, consuming too much THC can be very uncomfortable, and there are high THC products available for those with high tolerances, but this argument is so tiring. Of course, there’s the obvious comparison to liquor, which leads to blackouts and even death in a way that a big edible just doesn’t. But perhaps more importantly, it’s just so easy to use THC responsibly. One of the benefits of legalization is that products can be clearly labeled so one can purchase the acceptable dose for their tolerance and body weight. There may be 100mg gummies available now, but there are also 2.5mg usually on the same shelf. We know from the failed war on drugs that prohibition doesn’t make things better; in fact, we now know that adult-use cannabis laws and sales were not associated with an overall increase in teen substance abuse. Rather, the researchers found modest drops in alcohol and e-cigarette use occurred. One must use cannabis responsibly, especially when it comes to edibles, but we have to leave that up to individuals and assume that grown-ups can take care of themselves. 

SAM’s president, Kevin Sabet, accused the Biden administration of “starting with the decision and working backward to find the supporting materials,” but, in reality, the original decision to classify cannabis as a Schedule I was, as noted by Rep. Earl Blumenauer said in an emailed statement obtained by High Times in our reporting on the descheduling decision, based on stigma rather than science. And, based on the knee-jerk reaction of SAM, a day after the descheduling announcement, we can assume that the modest move to move marijuana to Schedule III will not end this toxic stigma and that the War on Drugs is far from over. 

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The federal war on marijuana has entered the end game.

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Green isn’t just the color of cannabis, but cash, too. And thanks to your valiant efforts of consumption, the industry is looking to help out the economy. Info from the newly released MJBiz Factbook reveals that the economic impact of regulated marijuana sales in the U.S. could exceed a whopping $112.4 billion in 2024. That’s a 12% growth compared to last year. 

Overall, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts a slowdown in economic growth for 2024 due to higher unemployment levels and reduced inflation. As a result, the Federal Reserve is likely to lower interest rates starting in mid-2024. After this, economic growth is expected to rebound in 2025 (mark the year in your calendars hopefully you’ll have extra money for weed) and then level off in the following years. So, while 2024 isn’t likely going to be one of the best economic years on record, that’s not the cannabis industry’s fault. Without it, we’d be $112.4 billion poorer as a nation. And as new cannabis markets emerge, the industry is projected to contribute over $200 billion in additional spending to the U.S. economy by 2030.

While there were sales dips in established western markets (licensed retailers in California reported taxable sales exceeding $5.1 billion in 2023), marking a 4.7% decline from the previous year, according to the latest year-end data from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, you may have read about the California mass extinction), the cannabis industry continues to see growth through the expansion of new recreational and medical marijuana facilities in states like Maryland, Missouri, and New York. 

While it’s exciting to see that the cannabis industry is going to add hundreds of billions of dollars to the economy, keep in mind that MJBiz’s date doesn’t account for potential U.S. government actions like federal rescheduling or legalization, each of which could boost revenue and economic impact. While Biden has said he’d reschedule cannabis and expunge more cannabis convictions, he hasn’t turned out to be the great liberal hero who legalizes marijuana for all. Donald Trump has been all over the place when it comes to cannabis. Thirty years ago, he said drugs should be legal, but he has backpedaled in modern years to appeal to his conservative voter base. Twenty-five years later, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, he said that he thinks marijuana legalization is “bad” and that he feels “strongly about that.”

To come to the figure of $112.4 billion of economic impact, MJBizDaily applied some epic math by looking at comparable industries. Then, they used a standard multiplier to estimate projected sales for recreational and medical marijuana. The economic multiplier illustrates the broader economic impact of the cannabis industry. It suggests that for every dollar spent by consumers and patients at adult-use stores and medical marijuana dispensaries, an additional $2.50 is circulated into the economy. This money primarily benefits the local economies that sell the cannabis in the first place. 

Keep in mind that the economic impact of the marijuana industry is different from supply-chain revenue, which is commonly utilized to gauge an industry’s ‘total size.’ According to the MJBiz Factbook, total U.S. sales for adult-use and medical cannabis are projected to hit $32.1 billion in 2024 and rise to $58 billion by 2030. 

The term “economic impact” describes the effect of an industry (or an event) on the economy of the corresponding region or country. This includes economic growth, employment, wages, and overall economic activity changes. The economic impact includes direct impacts, such as the immediate benefits from business spending and salaries; indirect impacts, such as additional economic activity from local suppliers fulfilling new demands; and induced impacts, which happen from employees spending their paychecks locally. Knowing the economic impact helps stakeholders understand the economic value of different industries and make corresponding decisions. 

The projections represent the best estimates available for the ever-evolving marijuana industry, which is different from others as it operates under a complicated and ever-changing set of state regulations yet is still illegal federally (until, of course, we elect someone down to make some real progress). The cannabis industry is vast and includes agricultural, manufacturing, and retail sectors, as well as businesses that don’t sell weed but help the cause, like lighting suppliers and cannabis-friendly accounting firms. The number even includes 420-friendly events and hospitality businesses, which can really improve our economy, per the data, and make you feel good about taking part in your local cannabis community. 

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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker took to the campaign trail over the weekend to stump for President Joseph Biden, taking advantage of the 420 weed high holiday as an opportunity to tout the cannabis policy reforms made by the current administration. At a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, Pritzker said that cannabis policy reform can have significant economic benefits in states that legalize marijuana for adults.

“I wanted to come up here on 4/20, because we, too, legalized cannabis in the state of Illinois, and I know that’s been a boon to not only state revenues but also to business and job creation in the state of Michigan,” said Pritzker, according to a report from Michigan Advance.

“To be blunt: we’re proud to have sparked a new industry when we legalized adult-use cannabis,” the governor added on X in a 420 tweet.

Joined by Michigan Democratic state Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, Pritzker said that legalizing marijuana in Michigan was just one of many Democratic victories in the state since 2018.

“You all have turned a state that was — let’s face it, a red state — into a purple state, and now a blue state,” Pritzker told the crowd. “There are so many other states in the country that should be following Michigan’s lead.”

The Illinois governor added that the progress made in Michigan did not come easy, encouraging the public to volunteer for the campaign and canvass voters to get out the Democratic message.

“It’s like the eighth-grade dance, for me, anyway. Sometimes you have to knock on three or four doors before you get somebody you can really talk to,” Pritzker said. “Because you’re willing to do that, you’re going to have somebody to dance with. You’re going to bring them to the dance.”

Biden Administration Reviewing Federal Weed Policy

In 2022, Biden issued an executive order pardoning thousands of low-level marijuana convictions and directed his administration to review the federal prohibition of cannabis. In August 2023, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine called on the Drug Enforcement Administration to change the classification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Under the 1970 legislation, the Schedule I classification indicates that a drug has no accepted medical value and a high propensity for abuse. Other drugs currently listed under Schedule I include heroin and LSD.

In January, the Department of Health and Human Services determined that marijuana is eligible for the less strict classification under federal drug laws, according to agency documents. As part of the review, researchers with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that credible evidence shows that marijuana has legitimate medical uses and fits the criteria for rescheduling under the Controlled Substances Act.

At his Grand Rapids campaign stop, Pritzker noted that Biden is also busy supporting his bid for reelection against former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. The president spent much of last week campaigning in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and will be making additional stops to help secure the “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, three states that voted for Trump in 2016 but then switched to Biden four years later.

“Democrats need to win the blue wall states. It’s vitally important, and Joe Biden knows it,” Pritzker said. “One of the reasons we’re having the Democratic National Convention here in the Midwest is because he recognizes how important this is.”

“Michigan sits in the middle,” he added. “If we don’t win Michigan, we can’t win the presidency. And if we don’t win Michigan, this country is going to go backwards.” 

Pritzker referred to criticisms that both frontrunners are too old to be elected, arguing that Biden’s experience and character are attributes that will help him in office while suggesting that Trump is uncaring.

“People sometimes say Joe Biden’s old. But Donald Trump has proven that you can be old and not learn anything,” said Pritzker. “You can be old without having learned, throughout the course of your life, empathy for people across the United States. And that is Joe Biden; he wears empathy on his sleeve.”

Pritzker acknowledged that last week, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy won his bid to be added to the Michigan ballot for the general election in November. But the governor said he was not concerned that Kennedy would be a spoiler candidate that takes votes away from the current president.

“There’s only one candidate on the ballot who can win and beat Donald Trump, and that’s Joe Biden,” Pritzker said. “I don’t think having ballot access for Robert Kennedy is going to change the fact that people are going to go into the voting booths and know that they’re throwing away their vote if they vote Robert Kennedy, and that if they vote for Joe Biden they’re assuring that we’re not going to have Donald Trump as president.”

Pritzker continued his support for the president’s reelection campaign on Sunday, leaning into his belief that Kennedy’s candidacy would not hurt Biden.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being on the ballot in Michigan, I think is going to have a little effect on the ultimate result,” Pritzker said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” according to a report from The Hill. “People understand that there are really only two candidates that have a path to victory in this country and in Michigan. And, of course, that’s Joe Biden and Donald Trump.”

Both major political parties have yet to make their choice for president official. The GOP will meet at the Republican Convention being held in Milwaukee in July to nominate the party’s candidate for president, while Democrats will choose their nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

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Democratic strategists see opportunities to attract Florida voters to the party’s candidates now that constitutional amendment initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana and guarantee broader abortion rights have qualified for the ballot. The Florida Supreme Court announced on April 1 that Amendment 3 to legalize adult-use cannabis and Amendment 4 to protect abortion rights had fulfilled state requirements and would appear on the ballot for this fall’s presidential general election.

If passed, Amendment 3 would legalize cannabis for adults aged 21 and older and allow Florida’s existing licensed medical marijuana retailers to begin serving all adult consumers. Amendment 4 says that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider,” with an exception for laws that require parental notification when minors get abortions. If passed, the amendment would effectively nullify a separate Supreme Court ruling issued last week that upheld the state’s 15-week limit on abortion and set the stage for approval of a six-week limit.

With 30 electoral votes, both the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns eye Florida as a significant step on the path to victory in November. Democratic strategists see the addition of Amendment 3 and Amendment 4 to the November ballot as an opportunity to attract young voters, who tend to support abortion rights and cannabis policy reform.

“Both abortion and marijuana legalization are highly resonate with young people, which is a key demographic that the president has got to turn out,” Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the grassroots progressive group Our Revolution, told The Hill. 

Biden Campaign Eyes Florida

On Monday, the Biden campaign released a memo indicating it would invest heavily in Trump’s home state of Florida, saying the policies of the former president and the Republican Party are “making Floridians’ lives worse.” Four years ago, Trump won the Sunshine State with 51% of the vote, while Biden took 48% of the vote.

Julie Chávez Rodríguez, the campaign manager for Biden’s reelection bid, said that the campaign is running ads in Florida targeting young voters and other demographic groups including Black and Hispanic voters. 

“Make no mistake: Florida is not an easy state to win, but it is a winnable one for President Biden, especially given Trump’s weak, cash-strapped campaign, and serious vulnerabilities within his coalition,” she said in the memo.

To win the state, the Biden campaign will have to have a strong showing from Democratic-leaning voting blocks including Black voters and young adults. Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party and an ally of the medical cannabis industry while serving as the state’s commissioner of agriculture, said she has already observed increased enthusiasm among young voters since the court rulings last week.

“Just based purely on watching social media in the last 24 hours, the youth vote is excited about the opportunity to be voting on cannabis and abortion in November,” she said.

Michael Starr Hopkins has experience running Democratic campaigns in Florida, serving as senior advisor for former Congressman Charlie Crist’s unsuccessful bid for governor of the state in 2022. As the country gears up for the November vote, the Democratic strategist sees the views of many Republicans as incompatible with those of most younger voters.

“Abortion and marijuana on the ballot could be an electoral earthquake for the youth vote in Florida. The GOP’s anti-choice, anti-cannabis stance isn’t just out of touch, it’s straight out of the stone age,” said Starr Hopkins. “Having these two hot-button issues front and center is going to turbocharge youth turnout, which is never a good thing for Republicans.”

Democrats See Success in Ohio and Alabama

Democrats see similarities between the situation developing in Florida this year with the 2023 race in Ohio. The ballot for that election included an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana and an amendment to enshrine the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” with “reasonable limits” in the Ohio Constitution. Propelled in part by a strong turnout of young voters, both ballot measures passed, handing Republican party leaders two losses in one fell swoop.

In Alabama late last month, Democrat Marilyn Lands won a special election for a state House seat after leaning into abortion rights and protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF) as issues for her campaign. Only weeks before, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen human embryos are legally people, leading to a halt of IVF services in the state, at least temporarily.

“Ballot initiatives can be game changing for campaigns. Just last week we saw a Democrat win a state house seat in Alabama focused on IVF, showing the power of the issue in a deep red state,” said Democratic strategist Andrea Riccio, co-founder of Velocity Partners. “With recreational marijuana use and abortion access on the ballot, the Biden campaign has a real opportunity to activate young voters and turn Florida blue.”

Currently, Trump has a 0.8 percentage point lead over Biden overall, according to The Hill and Decision Desk HQ’s aggregation of polls. With weed and abortion on the ballot in Florida, however, Democrats believe they can overcome the deficit in the state, securing its 30 electoral votes for Biden.

“If the GOP keeps underestimating the power of pissed-off young people, they’re in for a rude awakening at the ballot box. Florida could slip from their grasp as cash-strapped Republicans struggle to counter the surge of energized young voters,” said Starr Hopkins. “It’s a perfect storm that could spell disaster for the GOP’s chances in the Sunshine State.”

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This year is shaping up to potentially be one of the most historic when it comes to cannabis, as U.S. advocates and consumers alike await the final decision from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on whether it will reschedule cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III controlled substance.

After the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made its recommendation to the DEA in December 2023, the collective excitement for a final decision is palpable. There has even been a recent wave of rumors that the White House could make an announcement about the pending review in the coming days, though a Biden administration official denied any pending announcements for the upcoming week.

As the wait continues, a number of advocates and legislators are arguing that simply moving cannabis to another category is not enough and pushing to deschedule cannabis entirely. Among those leaders is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who appeared on The Late Show earlier this week to discuss her stance.

Leading the Push to Deschedule Cannabis

After a segment focusing on the economy and inflation, host Stephen Colbert pivoted to address a letter from last week led by Warren and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), along with nine other Democrats including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) among others. 

The letter urges the DEA and Biden administration to deschedule cannabis altogether, recognizing that rescheduling to Schedule III would be a “significant step forward” but would not resolve the “worst harms of the current system.”

“Thus, the DEA should deschedule marijuana altogether. Marijuana’s placement in the CSA has had a devastating impact on our communities and is increasingly out of step with state law and public opinion,” the legislators said in the letter dated Jan. 30.

“Last week you, Sen. Fetterman, Sen. Schumer and Sen. Sanders sent a letter to the DEA asking for marijuana to be descheduled. How is that different?” Colbert posed. “Two part question — How is that different from legalization, and are you high right now?”

After laughs from the audience, Warren said that cannabis legalization would be possible with a “functional Congress,” adding that this is “not the world we live in.” Descheduling, she argued, is an alternative that doesn’t require Congressional approval.

“Right now marijuana is scheduled, it’s called, as a drug by the DEA at the same risk as heroin,” Warren said. “And that means not only is it illegal, you can’t even do research on it. It’s, so no — and what we’re saying in this letter is, ‘Guys get with it,’ at the DEA. It’s not 1954. More than half of all states have legalized marijuana.”

Research on cannabis is still possible with its current scheduling, though it has historically come with a number of obstacles that have been long criticized as barriers to opening up more cannabis-related studies.

Descheduling vs. Rescheduling Cannabis

Descheduling cannabis would effectively remove its status as a controlled substance, thereby removing criminal penalties and essentially legalizing it. Congress would still be needed to establish a regulatory framework, and it would likely be treated similar to alcohol, with states allowed to form their own cannabis laws. Federal law and regulation could also play a part to some degree.

Rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would keep it as a controlled substance, and it would not federally legalize cannabis or allow states to facilitate their own markets. It would, however, remove research barriers and allow cannabis businesses licensed by the state to take federal tax deductions, which is currently not allowed.

While rescheduling alone would not enable the shift, many have also expressed concern that moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would open the door for Big Pharma to seize the market.

“The idea is to say, at the federal level, instead of creating this conflict, which is causing all kinds of problems—we’ve got problems with banking laws and problems in tax laws—you just say deschedule,” Warren said. “And look, we need some restrictions. Of course, let’s treat it like alcohol. We need to deschedule it, join the 21st century and let’s make marijuana legal. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

The declaration was met with applause, followed by Colbert’s jest, “I want to point out you didn’t answer my second question.” Warren exchanged a grin back to the host as Colbert ended the segment.

The full clip can be viewed here.

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wants to send the Biden administration a message: End prohibition of cannabis, once and for all, by fully descheduling it rather than simply rescheduling it to a slightly less restrictive category. The time is right for real change.

On Sunday, the senator called for Attorney General Merrick Garland and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to act to deschedule cannabis at a press conference in Harlem, New York. Cannabis is currently classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance, the most restrictive category and the same as heroin, with “no currently accepted medical use.”

“Descheduling marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act is not just a social justice issue; it’s an economic, medical, and public safety issue. Since marijuana was classified as a Schedule I substance during the war on drugs, countless lives have been torn apart, and individuals in primarily Black and brown communities have been targeted for nonviolent cannabis-related offenses,” Gillibrand said. “Studies show that legalizing marijuana could help reduce violence in international drug trafficking and generate billions of dollars for the economy. The vast majority of Americans agree that marijuana should be legalized—that’s why I’m calling on the Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration to swiftly deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.”

Most recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended that the DEA move cannabis to schedule III after careful review by federal authorities, but that may not be enough. High Times asked the senator why it’s critical to deschedule cannabis entirely, versus simply moving it to a less restrictive category.

“Rescheduling marijuana will not correct the wrongs of our current judicial system, which has historically targeted Black and brown communities for marijuana related offenses,” Gillibrand told High Times. 

The senator continued, “Descheduling marijuana is a critical step toward decriminalization, and it could also reduce violence in international drug trafficking, make the United States competitive in global markets, and generate billions of dollars for the economy.”

Gillibrand is joined by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, New York State Senator Cordell Cleare, New York City Council Member Yusef Salaam, New York State Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs, New York State Assemblymember Rev. Al Taylor, Executive Director of Empire State NORML David Holland, and business leaders across New York. Gillibrand also reiterated her stance on social media as the 2024 general election gears up.

“Classifying marijuana as a Schedule I drug—something more dangerous than cocaine or fentanyl—has harmed communities and denied critical relief to vulnerable patients,” the senator posted on X. “It’s time to legalize and deschedule marijuana altogether.”

The current status of cannabis at the federal level puts individuals at risk, some more than others.

Gillibrand’s Ongoing Support for Cannabis Reform

The senator has voiced her opinion that cannabis should be legal at the federal level several times before, including the campaign trail of the 2020 general election. In 2017, Gillibrand introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect (CARERS) Act with Al Franken, Rand Paul, and Cory Booker, and then in 2018, she cosponsored the Marijuana Justice Act along with Sen. Booker.

In 2019, when she was running for president of the U.S., Gillibrand released a plan for the national legalization of cannabis, saying that she would make the issue a “top priority” of her presidency.

“America’s federal prohibition of marijuana needs to end now,” Gillibrand wrote, acknowledging the need for access to medical cannabis. “Millions of Americans seek medical marijuana to treat chronic or severe pain — often in an effort to avoid prescription opioids — but access is limited by insurance coverage and availability of medical marijuana dispensaries, even in states where medical marijuana is legal,” Gillibrand wrote. “We should be expanding patients’ access to treatment they need, especially when it helps reduce addiction to dangerous medications.”

Little action at the federal level isn’t helping anyone, and she believes supporting cannabis could be a major factor in the upcoming general election.

A Boost for Biden

Federal authorities have been toying with the idea of rescheduling cannabis to schedule III, and cannabis would be regulated like Tylenol III’s or hormone replacement therapy. If the HHS’ recommendation to reschedule cannabis on the federal Controlled Substances Act becomes a reality, it could make an impact on President Joe Biden’s favorability ahead of the upcoming 2024 presidential election. There is now data to support that idea.

A recent survey found broad support across demographics and suggested Biden could see an 11% favorability boost if it occurs.

The survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners, revealed a number of key findings surrounding registered voters and attitudes surrounding cannabis, namely that Biden could boost his favorability by 11% among younger voters should cannabis move from Schedule I to Schedule III.

“By the end of the poll, impressions of Biden improve by a net double-digits—an 11-point swing overall, including a double-digit (+11-point) swing among younger voters,” the survey notes. 

“In conclusion, rescheduling cannabis is not only the right move from a policy perspective, it is also politically helpful,” the survey concludes. “Nowhere is this more true than for younger voters—one of the most cross-pressured groups of voters, and also the most sanguine about rescheduling.”

New York leaders like Gillibrand believe reclassifying cannabis under schedule III does not go far enough. Instead, the Biden administration should take a bolder move and deschedule it altogether, giving Americans what they clearly want.

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As per a new law, the Department of Defense will begin tracking overdoses within the United States military in 2024 and begin to provide naloxone to service members beginning in 2025. 

Military overdose deaths have historically not been systematically tracked until the release of a report by Rolling Stone in 2022 detailing the steep rise in overdose deaths at Fort Bragg, which has since been renamed to Fort Liberty. The report detailed the shocking increase in deaths from fentanyl, counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl and deaths in otherwise healthy young men from causes typically sustained from long-term drug use that were not labeled as overdoses.

In general, Rolling Stone described shoddy record-keeping and experienced a general lack of transparency from the brass at Fort Liberty regarding drug use, drug-related crimes or overdose by military members. Of the 109 deaths that occurred at Fort Liberty between 2020 and 2021, at least 14 soldiers died directly from overdose, though that number is likely higher if you count deaths from drug-related causes, 21 by Rolling Stone’s count, making accidental overdose the leading cause of death at Fort Liberty behind suicide which claimed the lives of 41 soldiers in the same time period. 

After the Rolling Stone report, pressure built on Congress to do something about the issue and Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) along with other congressmen began to push the Pentagon for increased transparency. This request led to an admission by the Pentagon that fentanyl-related deaths roughly doubled among military members between 2017 and 2021, much like the rest of the country experienced. According to a Military.com report, 330 service members died from drug overdose between 2017 and 2022, and 15,000 soldiers experienced non-fatal overdoses in the same time frame. 

“Real security means guaranteeing that members of the military and their families can get resources and life-saving treatment necessary to stop the overdose crisis in its tracks,” Senator Markey said in a statement to Military.com.

The law requiring overdose tracking and NARCAN distribution was signed by President Biden in December of 2022 and goes into effect in 2024. According to Military.com, the Department of Defense will be required to submit an annual report on overdose deaths, overdose locations, demographics, whether the service member had previously sought mental health treatment, or if they’d previously been prescribed opioids, benzodiazepines or stimulants.

“It’s really just smart public health,” said Professor Alex Bennett to Military.com. Bennett serves as the director of New York University’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Program. “There’s really a lot of drug naivete amongst military personnel,” Bennett said.

Part of the issue, as is the same with the civilian population, is that fentanyl is often used to make “pressed pills” or fake prescription pills designed to look like pharmaceutical painkillers or benzodiazepines which are often poorly dosed, causing people to unwittingly ingest a lethal dose of fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration has estimated that about 70% of fake prescription pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. 

“We’ve been working with a lot of veterans who use substances while they’re in the military. Transparency with data tracking like the kind the military is set to begin doing is a step in the right direction,” Bennett said. “Closing your eyes to drug problems doesn’t solve anything,” Bennett said. “It just makes things worse.”

Carole De Nola, whose 23-year-old child died of an overdose while stationed at Fort Liberty, told Military.com that drug education is especially needed among military members as the new law does not require the military to educate service members on the dangers of fentanyl.

“We should be dealing with this before a service member’s about to overdose,” De Nola said. 

It was not immediately clear how the military would be distributing naloxone, commonly known as NARCAN, which is a life-saving medication that can halt an opioid overdose in its tracks. Many NARCAN distribution programs have been established at the level of local cities and townships but nothing has been established federally, or by military leadership until the new law was passed. The new law requires that naloxone be made available to all troops by the year 2025. The law also requires all the naloxone distributed by tracked, which could discourage some military members from seeking it out. 

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‘Well, duh,’ says anyone who’s used cannabis medically or researched the substance.

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