Those wedded to the status quo of cannabis criminalization have long warned that legalizing the marijuana market will result in increased adolescent use. But 10 years following the first states’ decisions to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis sales, data conclusively shows that this fear was unfounded.
As a first step forward, this policy change dramatically shifts the political debate surrounding cannabis.
Perhaps most tellingly, our political opponents are also touting its significance, pledging to take whatever steps necessary to derail this proposed policy change.
“It is significant for these federal agencies, and the DEA and FDA in particular, to acknowledge publicly for the first time what many patients and advocates have known for decades: that cannabis is a safe and effective therapeutic agent for tens of millions of Americans.”
Federal health officials concluded, “The risks to the public health posed by marijuana are low compared to other drugs of abuse,” such as benzodiazepines — a Schedule IV drug, or alcohol, which is unscheduled.
“It is significant for these health agencies to acknowledge publicly, for the first time, what many patients and advocates have known for decades: that cannabis is a safe and effective therapeutic agent for tens of millions of Americans.”
“This milestone reflects the reality that advocates have been engaged in a multi-decade long struggle to compel the federal government to acknowledge the obvious: that cannabis possesses therapeutic benefits. It also highlights the fact that the federal government’s ongoing refusal to do so has been strictly a political decision.”
The HHS recommendation now goes to DEA, which possesses the final authority to schedule or reschedule a drug under the Controlled Substances Act.