DEA to reclassify Marijuana from schedule I to schedule III

[SouthNarc]

You're probably right but I would qualify it with, "I'm not sure we know". A lot of people are high all day and we have no idea what effect it's had on all of the decisions they make, and have been making for years. It's not like we're documenting what people are pulling positive for when they commit crimes, and it's not like they aren't used together.

The whole "but it's better than alcohol" rationale is also kind of strange to me anyway. It's a pretty low bar. It's like arguing about whether cake is a healthier breakfast than doughnuts or something.

Don't get me wrong, the schedule I was too much, and I don't really care about legalization either. I approve of it in the sense that I think people shouldn't have to deal with drug dealers to get it.

In my opinion it hasn't really been illegal here for a long time. Less than an ounce and a half was essentially a parking ticket. To get that parking ticket, a cop somehow had find you with it and be annoyed enough to bother writing one. That isn't happening in your living room, or at a concert, or in the middle of a park, or whatever. If you're stupid enough to get one, you write a check.

I haven't seen the huge benefit to states that have legalized, but I'd love to be educated. California legalized in 2016 and I think their medical program was abused enough that it's been legal awhile longer. What miracles have they performed with all the tax money? I watched a doc about how Oakland was trying to attract indoor growers to create industry and generate tax revenue. Want to move to Oakland, is it better there somehow than it was in 2016? Has crime gone down in states with legalized marijuana?

I think my state's program has some enormous flaws, and is actually losing money at the moment, so I may just be bitter. I just haven't been sold on any improvement legalization has had for most people.

My opinion of it here is that it's another cash grab by the state, looking to take more money from people with low incomes. I also suspect the legalize lobby spent a shitload of money and that politicians saw it as a way to generate votes. As usual I'd love to be wrong.

Very fair and well balanced post.

[Clusterfrack]

Here in Potlandia where all drugs are effectively legal, weed is low on the scale. Meth and opiates do the most harm. We’ve had at least 2 murders related to shrooms. A cop friend told me that he’s seen a ton of impaired driver accidents caused by weed, and feels it’s approximately equal to alcohol in that regard—just much more difficult to test for.

[TC215]

Not saying it has no use whatsoever or that it belongs in schedule 1 with people being thrown in jail for it....but the notion that it's harmless is a bunch of Joe Rogan podcaster bro half truth.

Just to be clear, there are very few people going to federal prison for marijuana offenses, and it being Schedule I or Schedule III had nothing to do with it. Generally, it takes about a ton of marijuana locally for the US Attorney’s Office to prosecute it. The vast majority of marijuana cases I’ve seen prosecuted federally also involve firearms. In 16 years of doing this, I can count the number of federal marijuana cases (not involving firearms) I’ve seen prosecuted on one hand and have fingers left over.

I view the rescheduling largely as a political move, but one that probably makes sense.

I think most states’ drug schedules mirror the DEA schedule for the most part, but here marijuana is Schedule VI. I suspect that’s not unique to my state.

As far as marijuana and other crimes/violence— I’ve seen more violence (robberies, shootings, murders) associated with marijuana than any other drug, period. But that has more to do with the black market than it does with people being high.

[WobblyPossum]

Just to be clear, there are very few people going to federal prison for marijuana offenses, and it being Schedule I or Schedule III had nothing to do with it. Generally, it takes about a ton of marijuana locally for the US Attorney’s Office to prosecute it. The vast majority of marijuana cases I’ve seen prosecuted federally also involve firearms. In 16 years of doing this, I can count the number of federal marijuana cases (not involving firearms) I’ve seen prosecuted on one hand and have fingers left over.

I view the rescheduling largely as a political move, but one that probably makes sense.

I think most states’ drug schedules mirror the DEA schedule for the most part, but here marijuana is Schedule VI. I suspect that’s not unique to my state.

As far as marijuana and other crimes/violence— I’ve seen more violence (robberies, shootings, murders) associated with marijuana than any other drug, period. But that has more to do with the black market than it does with people being high.

I’ve seen three marijuana cases prosecuted that didn’t involve firearms. Two involved literal tractor trailers full of weed and one involved a guy with over 1,000 live plants in a U-Haul. Being on I-40 skews the stats a little bit though because people buy marijuana in California and then try to smuggle it east on I-40.

You aren’t the first experienced investigator who has mentioned that marijuana trafficking seems to be associated with more violent incidents in terms of robberies and murders. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe the people dealing large amounts of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, etc tend to be more professional. Maybe it’s something else.

I agree with you that the rescheduling is likely just a political move. I don’t think just rescheduling marijuana will do much to change federal prosecutions since Congress would need to rewrite 21 USC 841 (A) (B) and (C) as well in order to get marijuana out of the high level trafficking felonies.

[BillSWPA]

Tangentially relevant since only some of the vaping was marijuana:

Young vaper who required double lung transplant shares warnings as e-cigarette sales rise

https://www.foxnews.com/health/young...tte-sales-rise

Explore the Fox News apps that are right for you at http://www.foxnews.com/apps-products/index.html.

[PearTree]

Something I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread is the financial and insurance angle of rescheduling. If marijuana is rescheduled, doctors prescribing marijuana should force health insurance to provide reimbursement. Financially, once rescheduled credit card companies and financial institutions will have an avenue to start accepting marijuana transactions. And if you think big pharma isn’t gearing up to take advantage of the ocean of money, you are blind. Once the likes of Pfizer starts offering marijuana products the flood gates will open. And when that happens, it will also create a pathway for marijuana businesses to be listed on the stock exchange.

Like most policy decisions our government makes, this seems to be a financial one. And we are talking billions of dollars.

[RevolverRob]

Something I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread is the financial and insurance angle of rescheduling. If marijuana is rescheduled, doctors prescribing marijuana should force health insurance to provide reimbursement. Financially, once rescheduled credit card companies and financial institutions will have an avenue to start accepting marijuana transactions. And if you think big pharma isn’t gearing up to take advantage of the ocean of money, you are blind. Once the likes of Pfizer starts offering marijuana products the flood gates will open. And when that happens, it will also create a pathway for marijuana businesses to be listed on the stock exchange.

Like most policy decisions our government makes, this seems to be a financial one. And we are talking billions of dollars.

In my novel-in-progress set in a not so distant future the major plot is: all narcotics are legalized and Big Pharma groups become the biggest cartels. To the point they under-the-table employ PMCs to wholesale eliminate cartels in non-US jurisdictions and use politics to increase enforcement on illegal narcotics trade within US jurisdictions.

[WobblyPossum]

With Marijuana being rescheduled, will that mean people with a medical marijuana prescription will now legally be able to possess firearms?

[breakingtime91]

Just want to point out, since I've listened to his podcast for the last almost 9 years, Joe Rogan does not say that marijuana is for everyone. He says, from the start, it's bad for young people and can cause mental illness in some people (schizophrenia especially). I really hate when people lie so I needed to point that out. If you have an actual greviance with him fine, don't make shit up. I find him, especially in the last few years, to be more and more on the side of freedom and helping educate a lot of left leaning people on the problems with their thought processes. He used to be liberal and it would annoy me but I used it as a sound board to challenge my own beliefs. Ever since Jordan Peterson joined him for a podcast (circa 2016ish I think) he has been ona journey that has led him to being more and more on the side of freedom. He also went against covid mandates while a lot here took the bait and regurgitated the governments propaganda.


Sorry, but it annoys me how people portray Joe Rogan with no experience actually listening to him. He's doing more for freedom and freedom of thought than most.

[03RN]

With Marijuana being rescheduled, will that mean people with a medical marijuana prescription will now legally be able to possess firearms?

That's what I was wondering.

I'm also wondering if we will now be able to utilize it at the facility I work at. We prescribe opiates for MAT (medication assisted treatment).

I hope we don't as I think it's a bad idea here.