Marijuana Now A Schedule 3 Drug

[Plutonic Panda]

Trump has now signed an executive order that re-classified marijuana as a schedule three drug. This is a step in the right direction now I wish they would do psychedelics.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-marijuana-executive-order-bc1e3e5376105fdc6240982b10f74f6f

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm honestly surprised that the previous administration didn't take this up. 

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm honestly surprised that the previous administration didn't take this up. 

It really seemed like such a no-brainer thing to do that could potentially win over a lot of votes. It is pretty surprising that none of the other administrations did this sooner.

[kphoger]

Yeah, I kept hearing several years ago that it was one of those rare issues that had bipartisan support.  And then nothing ever happened.

[Rothman]

Yeah, I kept hearing several years ago that it was one of those rare issues that had bipartisan support.  And then nothing ever happened.

Isn't this because Dems are afraid of being deemed "soft on crime"?

[wxfree]

Yeah, I kept hearing several years ago that it was one of those rare issues that had bipartisan support.  And then nothing ever happened.

They have no motivation to act if they can't "own" the other side.

[wxfree]

Yeah, I kept hearing several years ago that it was one of those rare issues that had bipartisan support.  And then nothing ever happened.

Isn't this because Dems are afraid of being deemed "soft on crime"?

It isn't a crime if it's legal.

[Brandon]

I'm honestly surprised that the previous administration didn't take this up. 

I'm not.

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm honestly surprised that the previous administration didn't take this up. 

I'm not.

Why?

[kphoger]

Yeah, I kept hearing several years ago that it was one of those rare issues that had bipartisan support.  And then nothing ever happened.

Isn't this because Dems are afraid of being deemed "soft on crime"?

My admittedly uninformed impression was that it was the Republicans who backed off supporting the move.

So maybe it was both sides?

[Molandfreak]

Yeah, I kept hearing several years ago that it was one of those rare issues that had bipartisan support.  And then nothing ever happened.

Isn't this because Dems are afraid of being deemed "soft on crime"?

My admittedly uninformed impression was that it was the Republicans who backed off supporting the move.

So maybe it was both sides?

It is a topic that really has no clear movement in either direction, just where the money is going to. John Fetterman was previously known for his vocal support of cannabis, yet he voted for the hemp limitations snuck into the bill to end the government shutdown. At this point, the alcohol industry is doing the heavy lobbying for continued prohibition.

[kphoger]

Personally, I hold a tentative position that marijuana is not as hunky-dory as a lot of people make it out to be, and that it might be a good idea to keep it illegal for recreational use.  It's a tentative position, though, and I could easily be swayed to the other side.

However, making it a Schedule III drug doesn't actually mean that.  It just means it has an accepted medical use, that it isn't unsafe in every context.  That, to me, seems quite prudent, and it's what seems to me like it should have the broadest political support.

It's now under the same schedule as Vicodin.  I once accidentally took a gram of Vicodin on an empty stomach and then drove a box truck.  My trainee had given me two pills for a headache that he thought were Tylenol, but they were actually 500mg Vicodin.  Oops.  At our next stop, I had to lie down in the back of the truck for a while, and then he had to do the driving after that.

[Molandfreak]

It's now under the same schedule as Vicodin.  I once accidentally took a gram of Vicodin on an empty stomach and then drove a box truck.  My trainee had given me two pills for a headache that he thought were Tylenol, but they were actually 500mg Vicodin.  Oops.  At our next stop, I had to lie down in the back of the truck for a while, and then he had to do the driving after that.

It's pretty difficult to "accidentally" consume a product containing cannabinoids if stored properly.

[kphoger]

It's pretty difficult to "accidentally" consume a product containing cannabinoids anything if stored properly.

fixed?

[Molandfreak]

It's pretty difficult to "accidentally" consume a product containing cannabinoids anything if stored properly.

fixed?

Maybe not Vicodin.

[kphoger]

It wasn't stored properly...

[Rothman]

I just hate the smell of marijuana.

[Molandfreak]

It wasn't stored properly...

Well, most people don't go around popping random pills from an unmarked container.

I will say that I did give Advil to a stranger once since I usually carry some in a keychain pill container. Those are clearly stamped "Advil," so they are pretty easy to verify exactly what they are. Unless baked into something, every single product I have tried containing THC has similarly been stamped with a THC label.

[Max Rockatansky]

I just hate the smell of marijuana.

I don't care much for the smell of tobacco either but it is downright pleasant compared to the skunky smell of marijuana.

[kphoger]

I don't care much for the smell of tobacco either but it is downright pleasant compared to the skunky smell of marijuana.

I'm on the fence about that one.  I really hate cigarette smoke.

The worst punishment to inflict on a person is to make a non-smoker empty out the smoldering can of six months' worth of cigarette butts outside the office door.

(Then again, I actually kind of like the smell of actual skunk.)

[Molandfreak]

(Then again, I actually kind of like the smell of actual skunk.)

[Plutonic Panda]

(Then again, I actually kind of like the smell of actual skunk.)

Stings the nostrils!

[Scott5114]

The current president's shoot-first-ask-questions-later style has now resulted in him doing one thing I agree with, so I'm thankful for that. This has been long overdue.

I'm honestly surprised that the previous administration didn't take this up. 

It really seemed like such a no-brainer thing to do that could potentially win over a lot of votes. It is pretty surprising that none of the other administrations did this sooner.

My understanding is that Biden was concerned that rescheduling would somehow screw things up with drug-enforcement treaties the US had signed with other countries, and I guess they just didn't prioritize finding a way around that.

Personally, I hold a tentative position that marijuana is not as hunky-dory as a lot of people make it out to be, and that it might be a good idea to keep it illegal for recreational use.  It's a tentative position, though, and I could easily be swayed to the other side.

However, making it a Schedule III drug doesn't actually mean that.  It just means it has an accepted medical use, that it isn't unsafe in every context.  That, to me, seems quite prudent, and it's what seems to me like it should have the broadest political support.

Moreover, if it's Schedule III then it's a lot easier to conduct studies of it in the US, to develop actual data on whether it's hunky-dory or not.

It also makes it much easier to conduct business that involves it—before today, cannabis businesses could not easily deal in anything but cash, and accepting credit cards involved a bunch of expensive workarounds like ATMs that didn't actually dispense any money. Cannabis businesses were also subject to much higher taxes. For every other business in the country, if you made $100 in revenue and spent $25 on business expenses, you would be taxed on the $75 profit. For a cannabis business, the $25 in expenses was spent on what the federal government considered illegal activity, meaning they got taxed on the full $100. (And then had to bring those taxes to the local IRS office in the form of a briefcase full of $100 bills, because banks didn't want to advertise to the federal government that they were doing business with an illegal operation.)

[Molandfreak]

Moreover, if it's Schedule III then it's a lot easier to conduct studies of it in the US, to develop actual data on whether it's hunky-dory or not.

There are a number of studies showing that kratom is an effective substance to limit the symptoms of opioid withdrawals. But the calls from prohibitionists aren't to reschedule kratom to schedule 3, they are full bans, such as Louisiana's prohibition of the substance.

I have been told that kratom is addictive in and of itself, but in my experience those concerns are very overblown.

[Bobby5280]

I'm hoping that the re-classification of Marijuana as a schedule 3 drug will make things easier for dispensary businesses here in Oklahoma. I don't do any of the product, but I have designed a LOT of signs and window wraps for dispensaries here in Lawton and elsewhere around the state. The business has been pretty good for our company's bottom line.