WTF is Schedule 1? (and why it matters)
Wtf is Schedule 1 (and why it matters) Cullen Ware [@CullenJWare]
Hey there Buddies! We would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the monumental moment that we are living in as it concerns cannabis reform here in the United States. If you remember, last year President Biden urged The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to undergo a review of cannabis scheduling. On August 30, 2023, HHS made a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to move cannabis from a Schedule 1 substance to a Schedule 3 substance. Let’s talk about what this means and the next steps.
Currently, the DEA has 5 levels of scheduling for substances that they enforce at different levels of criminality. Schedule 1 is the highest which they define as, “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” (https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling) Some other drugs in Schedule 1 are heroin, LSD, Ecstasy, and peyote. (Sidebar: if you needed more proof of the racist roots of the war on drugs, you should look no further than cocaine is the drug of choice for wealthy white people while being extremely addictive with zero medical value, it being a Schedule 2 drug. Cocaine’s sibling drug, heroin, by comparison, is preferred by minority and lower-income people and it is listed as Schedule 1.) Moving cannabis to Schedule 3 would mean (according to the DEA), “drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” Some other drugs in Schedule 3 are codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone.
To be clear, this does not mean in any way that cannabis will be federally legalized or decriminalized by this move. However, it does do a lot for the cannabis industry like allowing cannabis businesses to have a tax write-off for the production of the cannabis, as well as opening up additional cannabis research avenues. Oh, and not to forget that would also lower the criminality for possession of the cannabis plant.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that this is something that can be done without much congressional interference, but it is up to the DEA for the next moves to actually recommend the rescheduling and this is where you come in. In order to do this the DEA will have to hold some form of public hearing for comments from the constituents. This is where we can help! Make sure your voice is heard when this is open, and we will be sure to remind you once we get more information about it!
Two final notes on a timetable of how this will all unfold: 1) This began with President Biden asking for a review by HHS around midterms. My guess is the DEA rescheduling recommendation will come out around the election as a win for the Biden administration. 2) Historically courts affirm recommendations by agencies like the DEA with great deference. My suspicion is the same will happen here, especially since this is in no way a full decriminalization and also opens up tax revenue for the plant.
This may not seem like much, but this is quite the historic move that should yield the best federal cannabis reform we have seen since the war on drugs began!
TLDR: HHS recommends moving cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. This doesn't legalize it but eases some restrictions and could boost the industry. DEA will have a public hearing, so speak up. Timing might be political, but the courts usually follow DEA’s lead. Big step for U.S. cannabis reform.
BUSINESS UPDATE
Hey buddies! This section is a new addition to the zine, but we wanted a space to keep everyone apprised of our business journey. We are a ways away from our goal of growing the best legal flower available here in Texas. But, we are moving ahead with some other elements of our business plan. One of those is events, so be on the lookout for us to announce our second-ever live event very soon!