While the U.S. government is moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, the dozen states that have not yet legalized widespread medical or recreational use of the drug by adults will have no immediate impact. There is a possibility that it is almost non-existent.
But supporters of marijuana legalization are hopeful that changes in federal regulations could ultimately change the minds and votes of some state policymakers who have been reluctant to embrace cannabis. There is.
read more: What reclassifying marijuana means for Americans
“It’s common for state legislators to say to me, ‘Well, I might support this, but I’m not going to vote for something that’s federally illegal,'” said Matthew, the association’s executive director.・Mr. Schweich said. Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates for cannabis legalization.
While the proposal to reclassify marijuana would not legalize it, “this is a historic and meaningful change at the federal level, and I think it will make many state legislators a little less hesitant to support the bill.” added Schweich.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has proposed moving marijuana from a “Schedule I” drug, which includes heroin and LSD, to a less regulated “Schedule III” drug, which includes ketamine and some anabolic steroids. Federal regulations allow some medical uses for Schedule III drugs. However, the proposed changes face a lengthy regulatory process that may not be completed until after the presidential election.
Meanwhile, proposed changes to federal law could add new arguments for supporters of ballot measures seeking to legalize marijuana. Florida voters are expected to decide on a constitutional amendment to allow recreational marijuana in November. Several other states, including South Dakota, may also hold popular votes, and supporters plan to submit signatures Tuesday for a third attempt to legalize recreational marijuana.
After two previous failures, a group in Nebraska is gathering signatures to put two measures on this year’s ballot. One is to legalize medical marijuana, and the other is to allow private companies to grow and sell marijuana.
In North Dakota, criminal defense attorney Mark Friese, a former police officer, is supporting a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. He said the proposed federal reclassification could be very helpful to this year’s initiative movement. North Dakota voters rejected legalization measures in 2018 and 2022, but approved medical marijuana in 2016.
“The bottom line is that this move will allow for an intelligent and informed debate on cannabis legislation, rather than giving in to the historic objection that marijuana is a dangerous drug like LSD or black tar heroin. That’s true,” Friese said.
Some are unsure whether reclassification will make a difference.
Jackie Winters, president of an Idaho group supporting a ballot effort to legalize medical marijuana, said it’s difficult to get potential supporters to sign petitions.
“In Idaho, people are literally afraid to sign anything that has to do with marijuana,” she says. “They’re afraid of the police coming to their house.”
The proposed federal law changes would likely have little impact on the 24 states that have already legalized adult-use recreational marijuana or the additional 14 states that allow medical marijuana. . But advocates say the move could sway a dozen other states to either outlaw marijuana completely or limit access to products with low levels of THC, the chemical that gets people high. I hope there is.
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Since 2015, Georgia has allowed patients with certain medical conditions and doctors to consume low-THC cannabis products, but until last year there was no legal way to purchase them. Eight pharmacies currently sell the product.
The Georgia Board of Pharmacy also issued licenses for low-THC products to 23 independent pharmacies last year, but the federal DEA warned pharmacies in November that dispensing medical marijuana violates federal law.
Dawn Randolph, executive director of the Georgia Pharmacy Association, said the federal government’s reclassification of marijuana could pave the way for pharmacists to treat marijuana products “like any other prescription drug.” .
In other states, such as Tennessee, elected leaders remain hesitant to support medical or recreational marijuana. Tennessee Senate President Randy McNally (R) previously said he would not support changing state law until the federal government reclassifies marijuana.
However, even after reports that the DEA recommended reclassification, McNally refrained from supporting the push to legalize medical marijuana.
He said Thursday that removing marijuana from the list of Schedule I drugs “just starts a conversation in my head, it doesn’t end there. Even if the downgrade to Schedule III goes through as proposed, there are issues that need to be resolved.” There will still be many more.”
A proposal to legalize medical marijuana failed without a vote in a Kansas Senate committee this year, and an attempt to force it through the full Senate also failed by a wide margin. The strongest and most influential opponents have been law enforcement officials, who worry that legalization could lead to organized crime and make it difficult to assess whether people are driving under the influence. expressed.
Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattibi believes the DEA’s efforts to reschedule marijuana are “misguided and politicized,” KBI spokeswoman Melissa Underwood said. said.
The South Carolina state police chief also opposes legalizing medical marijuana, saying it would open the door to other drug use. A legalization bill sponsored by Republican state Sen. Tom Davis passed the Senate this year but has stalled in a House committee.
“It’s hard to change the mindset of a lot of people who have been conditioned to think a certain way about marijuana,” Davis said, vowing to continue pushing for medical marijuana legislation next year if re-elected.
Iowa and Texas have not fully embraced medical marijuana, but have laws restricting access to some cannabis products with low THC content. Some cities in Texas have passed ordinances allowing the use of small amounts of marijuana. But a similar effort in Lubbock, home to Texas Tech University, was mocked in a Facebook post by Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows as part of a “national effort by the left to undermine public safety.” Ta.
Wyoming has been trying to promote marijuana through ballot initiatives and legislation for a decade without success. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon has been ambivalent about legalizing medical marijuana and opposes legalizing recreational marijuana. The Republican-led Congress did not even consider the latest bill to decriminalize marijuana and legalize medical marijuana.
But one organizer who supported unsuccessful petition efforts in 2022 and 2023 hopes the federal government’s reclassification of marijuana will prompt more lawmakers to support legalization. There is.
“The resistance will be much less pronounced,” said legalization advocate Apollo Pazel.
Associated Press writers Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas. Jeffrey Collins of Columbia, South Carolina, Jack Dula of Bismarck, North Dakota, Hannah Fingerhut of Des Moines, Iowa, Mead Gruber of Cheyenne, Wyoming, John Hannah of Topeka, Kansas, and Kimberly Collins of Nashville, Tennessee. Krusi contributed to this report. .
