Cannabis Schedule 3 Soon?

Anyone who follows the space knows that President Donald Trump has alluded to the idea of potentially rescheduling the substance from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. What exactly this means, other than just reclassifying it, seems to be a topic of debate between a lot of people currently. First, let's go over exactly what it does at face value, thinking nothing about the perceived changes that may come along with it.

Cannabis, or "Marijuana," "Weed," "Devil's Lettuce," is currently Schedule 1 on the CSA list — the Controlled Substances Act list. The definition is as follows, according to Google: A Schedule 1 drug is a drug or other substance that has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. These criteria are outlined in the Controlled Substances Act, which created the five schedules for classifying controlled substances.

That's just a quick overview of what Schedule 1 entails. Now, you may be asking yourself, I thought people used it for medical value with many different ailments, and in some cases even recreationally from legal dispensaries. You would be 100% correct! Some states go against the Controlled Substances Act, which is a federal "definition," so to speak. Just being on the schedule at Schedule 1 of 5 does not inherently make it illegal by that alone. (NOTE: Cannabis is federally illegal at the time of writing this article, but not just because it's on the Controlled Substances Act, according to Google AI at least.)

Although, all drugs currently on Schedule 1 ARE federally illegal (except in some research capacities). A non-exhaustive list is:

Heroin (diacetylmorphine)
LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)
Marijuana (cannabis, THC)
Mescaline (Peyote)
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or “ecstasy”)
GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid) - except formulations in FDA-approved drug product sodium oxybate (brands: Xyrem, Lumryz) are Schedule III; used to treat narcolepsy.
Ecstasy (MDMA or 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine)
Psilocybin ("magic mushrooms")
Synthetic marijuana and analogs (Spice, K2)
Methaqualone (Quaalude)
Khat (Cathinone, Cathine)
Bath Salts (3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone or MDPV)

This list is subject to change at any time and may not include every Schedule 1 substance.

Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty of it all. A change to Schedule 3 would definitely change some things, but at face value, it wouldn't even legalize the substance. What it would do is normalize it in ways that open up other avenues. From my perspective, I don't think this change will automatically get rid of 280E or all other restrictions people speak of. At the end of the day, this move will be political, and that means that there can be restrictions that come along with rescheduling if done through Congress, such as but not limited to keeping 280E in place for cannabis specifically, or legislating something similar just for cannabis.

The move would definitely make waves — it would change the public's perception of cannabis as a whole — but in my opinion, it is not an end-all-be-all, especially if 280E stays in place (or something similar). I don't necessarily think it will, but I think it's possible.

I highly doubt it will go from Schedule 1 to descheduled. However, I do think that possibility is there because it's the correct political move with over 50% support both recreationally and medically. Medical is somewhere around 80%+, and recreational has somewhere between 55–70% approval from the public (maybe even higher on both sides, being conservative here). This would also steal the subject from the Democrats, who seem to be for it... albeit they have in the past and have done nothing about it legally.

Now, my personal opinion on the matter is well known for the most part. I think it should be descheduled, heavily regulated, and very minimally taxed. Higher taxes push people to the black market due to lower costs, as most criminals don't pay taxes. I think it's very simple logic. I believe people should be able to possess as much as they'd like, as long as they're not illegally distributing or trafficking the substance.

This article is not about anything other than the legality of it and personal freedoms. Yes, I understand there are some downsides, and I think those need to be very well noted and actively researched. What I don't think is that people should be going to jail or prison for possession of a plant when it's naturally occurring and we also have the endocannabinoid system naturally.

I think it's time we start treating the plant with the respect it deserves and giving people better qualities of life without the fear of going to jail or prison for a plant.

-Scott Petheram

Edited for grammar only by ChatGPT (no formatting or structural changes made).