Marijuana and the federal govenment

Throughout the county, marijuana is gaining acceptance as a legitimate form of treatment for all sorts of medical conditions, including helping those suffering from cancer and chronic pain.

While still illegal under federal law, 23 states currently allow patients to use medical marijuana, with four states and Washington, D.C. going as far as to legalize its recreational use.[1] Additionally, in late 2014, Congress took measures which some viewed as an effective end to the federal  government’s ban on medical marijuana, despite policy makers feeling more research needs to be conducted.[2]  

Less than eighteen months later, it appears that the research has supported the contention that the drug does have medical applications. By some estimates, these applications could change the $6.7 billion/year marijuana industry into an industry worth over $20 billion/year by 2020.[3]

Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug, a category reserved for those with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” the most dangerous drugs on the market.[4]  However, earlier this week the DEA announced that it is considering reclassification of the drug.[5]  This is despite “some in Congress [being] quite vocal about their opposition to administrative rescheduling.”[6]

It has yet to be determined whether the drug would be given a Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 classification.  Schedule 2 drugs are those that “are still subject to varying degrees of control, but have a recognized medical use and may be dispensed with a prescription under certain circumstances.”[7] Schedule 3 drugs are those that “have a lower potential for abuse than drugs in the first two categories, accepted medical use, and mild to moderate possible addiction.”[8]

The first attempts at reclassifying the drug came in 1981, when Representative Stewart McKinney (R-CT) introduced a bill which would have made marijuana a Schedule 2 drug.[9]  Every year thereafter a similar bill had been introduced to Congress, and every year thereafter the respective bills died in committee.[10]

Should the drug be reclassified, the number of labs allowed to legally possess the drug will grow, allowing more research to be conducted, giving all involved a better opportunity to understand how the drug affects human health.  Currently, only one lab, at the University of Mississippi, has authorization to grow marijuana for testing, and approximately nine others have permission to perform such testing.[11] 
Additionally, reclassification could change the way the legal marijuana industry functions, from expanding the funding sources available to businesspeople wishing to get involved in the industry, to altering the tax effects of running a marijuana-related business.[12]

The last time the DEA discussed the possibility of reclassifying the drug was in 2011 at which time the DEA denied a petition for reclassification, a decision upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for DC in 2013.
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A decision is expected before July.[13]


[1] Tom Huddleston, Jr., U.S. Surgeon General Warms to Medical Marijuana (2/4/2015).

[2] Id.

[3] Tom Huddleston, Jr., The DEA Will Soon Decide Whether it Will Reschedule Marijuana, FORTUNE (4/6/2016).

[4] Drug Schedules, available at http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml.

[5] Tom Huddleston, Jr., The DEA Will Soon Decide Whether it Will Reschedule Marijuana, FORTUNE (4/6/2016)

[6] John Hudak and Grace Wallack, How To Reschedule Marijuana, And Why It's Unlikely Anytime Soon
 (2/13/15).

[7] Id.

[8] http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml.

[9] John Hudak and Grace Wallack, How To Reschedule Marijuana, And Why It's Unlikely Anytime Soon
 (2/13/15).

[10] Id.

[11] Tom Huddleston, Jr., The DEA Will Soon Decide Whether it Will Reschedule Marijuana, FORTUNE (4/6/2016).

[12] Id.

[13] Id.