The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially recommended that cannabis be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the List of Narcotic Drugs, a historic event which confirms among other things that the main health agency American no longer views cannabis as a drug with high potential for abuse and without medical value.
What are these Appendices?
In the United States, drugs, substances and certain chemicals used to manufacture medicines are classified into 5 distinct categories or Schedules based on the acceptable medical use of the drug and its potential for abuse or dependence.
The abuse rate is a determining factor in the classification of the drug; for example, Schedule I drugs have a high potential for abuse and the creation of severe psychological and/or physical dependence. The potential for abuse diminishes as the Appendices are added. Schedule V drugs have the lowest potential for abuse.
Schedule I drugs, substances or chemicals are defined as drugs whose medical use is not currently recognized and which have a high potential for abuse. Among the substances classified in Appendix I: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), cannabis, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone and peyote.
Schedule III includes substances with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. The abuse potential of Schedule III drugs is lower than that of Schedule I and Schedule II drugs, but greater than that of Schedule IV drugs. Among the drugs in Schedule III: products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with codeine), ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone, etc.
Where does this request for reclassification come from?
HHS conducted a scientific study on cannabis under a directive from President Joe Biden last year.
It now indicates to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the US drug regulatory agency, that it believes cannabis should be placed in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The recommendation is non-binding and the DEA has the final say, but the scientific analysis, combined with growing political support for cannabis reform, may well spur the DEA to make the change.
“Based on data and science, HHS quickly responded to President Biden’s directive to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and provided its cannabis programming recommendation to the DEA on August 29, 2023,” a doorman said. -word from HHS to Marijuana Moment Wednesday. “This administrative process was completed in less than 11 months, reflecting the collaboration and leadership of this department in ensuring that a full scientific assessment was completed and shared quickly. »
What impact in the United States?
As a Schedule III substance, cannabis would remain prohibited at the federal level. However, this reclassification would have major consequences for researchers who have long criticized the Annex I classification, which creates significant barriers to access to studies.
Moving cannabis to Schedule III would also open up tax opportunities for the cannabis industry that are not currently available. Section 280E of theInternal Revenue Code effectively prohibits taxpayers who traffic in certain controlled substances—as the federal cannabis trade is considered—from deducting customary business expenses or non-Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) credits related to such activities.
Politically, moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would allow President Joe Biden to say he contributed to major reform, facilitating an administrative review that could result in a reclassification over 50 years after cannabis was placed in the most restrictive category, when the federal government launched the war on drugs.
It could also bolster congressional momentum to further reform federal cannabis laws. When lawmakers return from August recess and continue trying to pass cannabis banking legislation, they can cite the HHS recommendation as proof of the urgency of normalizing the industry.
What impacts elsewhere?
Beyond the obvious example of a reclassification of cannabis in the country that launched and fueled drug prohibition globally, the international drug control system could be affected.
The United Nations Conventions, which classify drugs with a schedule system similar to that of the United States, have already been offered a reclassification of cannabis into categories more in line with science and the reality of use – and have already reclassified it to recognize its medical use. With the possibility of seeing it integrate a more permissive Annex which would facilitate its therapeutic, even recreational uses in the world?
