Federal Government Considers Removing Cannabis From Schedule I Controlled Substances Category
Controlled substances are drugs considered dangerous enough that the law subjects their sale and consumption to more restrictions than it does with ordinary consumer products. The Controlled Substances Act classifies controlled substances into five different categories, known as schedules. Schedules II through V are pharmaceutical drugs with approved medical uses, but which also have abuse potential, with Schedule II carrying the greatest risk of abuse. Schedule I controlled substances are drugs of abuse with no legally approved medical uses. Last month, a federal agency recommended reclassifying cannabis, changing it from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance. While this could be a sign of a shift toward less draconian drug laws, the most noticeable effects of the reclassification of cannabis would not be in the field of criminal law. To find out more about drug laws and exercising your rights under them, contact a West Palm Beach drug offenses lawyer.
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Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Cannabis Laws Are a Minefield of Contradictions
If you go anywhere in Palm Beach County, and indeed most places in Florida, you would not get the impression that cannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance, more illegal than cocaine and fentanyl. Palm Beach County is one of many places in Florida where local ordinances have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis. Meanwhile, statewide laws make it possible to buy cannabis products, and even smokable marijuana, at many locations.
Florida is one of many states to have decriminalized cannabis for medical or recreational use in some contexts. It remains a Schedule I controlled substance at the federal level, though. Therefore, you may not get criminal charges if police find a small bag of weed in your glove compartment during a traffic stop, but if you are accused of illegal trafficking of cannabis, you would face the same consequences as if you had been trafficking heroin.
What Will Change If Cannabis Becomes a Schedule III Controlled Substance?
For purposes of comparison, let us consider that some widely abused prescription drugs, including ketamine, suboxone, and anabolic steroids, are Schedule III controlled substances. If federal law changed cannabis to Schedule III, the state medical cannabis programs and local ordinances decriminalizing possession would remain in place. The differences would be at the institutional level. For example, researchers could conduct clinical trials with cannabis like they can with other pharmaceutical drugs. Reclassification could also be a boon to the legal cannabis industry. Since cannabis is currently Schedule I, dispensaries cannot claim business deductions. Likewise, the only business loans available to them have sky high interest rates. Reclassification would treat cannabis just like any other pharmaceutical drug classified as a controlled substance and would treat cannabis dispensaries just like any other business.
Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Sources:
forbes.com/sites/kriskrane/2023/08/31/hhs-call-to-reschedule-marijuana-is-a-big-deal-heres-why/?sh=705a88722a4a
marijuanamoment.net/federal-marijuana-rescheduling-is-just-a-step-on-the-path-to-legalization-congressional-lawmakers-say/
