Last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted a report to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) advising the federal government to reschedule marijuana as a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The HHS recently released the report to the public, leaving many to wonder if the federal government is one step closer to rescheduling cannabis.
The CSA divides controlled substances into five schedules ranging from Schedule I to Schedule V. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug — a classification reserved for the CSA’s most dangerous drugs that have a high potential for abuse. Since cannabis is currently classified on the federal level as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance (similar to heroin), it is a violation of federal law to possess, manufacture, or distribute marijuana in any form. Schedule 1 substances also have no accepted medical use.
The recommendation by HHS to reschedule cannabis as a Schedule III Controlled Substance is significant, as it represents the first time the federal government has recognized the potential medical benefits of cannabis.
In Michigan and several other states, the use of cannabis for adult recreational and medicinal use is legal.
What is a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act?
Schedule III substances under the Controlled Substances Act require the following:
- The substance has a lower potential for abuse than Schedule I and II drugs;
- The drug has accepted medical uses; and
- The substance has the potential to lead to low or moderate physical and psychological dependence.
What were the HHS findings?
The HHS report concluded that cannabis does meet the requirements for a Schedule III drug and has identified credible scientific support for the medical use of marijuana for some medical indications. The HHS assessed the following factors to support its determination:
- Cannabis’s actual or relative potential for abuse;
- Scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect;
- The state of current scientific knowledge regarding cannabis;
- Its history and pattern of abuse;
- The scope, duration, or significance of abuse;
- What, if any, risk there is to the public health;
- Its psychic or physiological dependence liability; and
- Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled.
HHS noted that marijuana “does not produce serious outcomes compared to drugs in Schedules I or II,” and “the vast majority of individuals who use marijuana are doing so in a manner that does not lead to dangerous outcomes to themselves or others.” Since receiving HHS’s recommendation, the DEA has said that it is “now conducting its review” of how marijuana is scheduled.
Before this review, the last review of marijuana scheduling occurred in 2016, when HHS ultimately recommended keeping marijuana under Schedule I.
What’s the next step?
The DEA is now reviewing the HHS recommendations. Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III would have important policy benefits, including the following:
- Allow marijuana businesses to access standard tax deductions for ordinary business expenses;
- Allow for increased scientific research into marijuana’s medical uses;
- Eliminate barriers to federal employment for medical marijuana users; and
- Permit the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to prescribe marijuana to veterans in need.
Rescheduling would also represent the first federal acknowledgment of marijuana’s legitimate medical uses, however, it would not automatically permit marijuana to be used as a medicine. Medical marijuana would still have to undergo FDA approval.
Help is available
The attorneys at O’Reilly Rancilio are available to answer questions related to marijuana law on the state and federal levels. To speak with an attorney, please call 586-726-1000 or visit our website.
