ACNA Response To Rescheduling Announcement

ACNA Response To Rescheduling Announcement From the DOJ

On April 30th, 2024, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) - Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had taken a historic step to reschedule cannabis within the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Currently, cannabis is classified as a Schedule 1 substance alongside drugs known to be harmful, like heroin and LSD. Schedule I substances are considered to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use in treatment.

Recently, the US government has acknowledged the medical benefits of cannabis. As per the recommendation of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Food and Drug Administration(FDA), cannabis would be reclassified as a Schedule III controlled substance. Schedule III substances are considered to have a lower potential for abuse as compared to Schedule I and II substances. Schedule III substances have accepted medical use for treatment, and examples include prescription drugs such as Tylenol #3 (Tylenol with codeine), anabolic steroids, and ketamine (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2017).

Rescheduling Pitfalls?

While the move to reschedule cannabis is a step forward in officially recognizing its therapeutic benefits and moving towards repealing cannabis prohibition at the federal level, rescheduling fails to address critical issues related to cannabis regulations.

Furthermore,?maintaining cannabis as a controlled substance perpetuates obstacles for patients and doesn't enhance the safety of the products. Currently, 38 states have legal medical cannabis programs, each with its own regulatory standards for safety and compliance. The lack of uniform governing and regulation places vulnerable populations at risk. To this end, the ACNA recommends establishing and implementing safety standards for current cannabis manufacturers through a new regulatory structure.

Rescheduling cannabis does not clarify or improve the regulatory issues in the medical and adult-use cannabis programs at the state level. It also fails to close the gap between federal cannabis law and state-based legalization programs. Additionally, rescheduling fails to address the decades of criminalization and harm caused by the War on Drugs, especially in communities of color over the last eight decades.?

Rescheduling Progress

Despite the issues identified above, rescheduling has the potential to open doors for cannabis nurses and business owners. Medical and therapeutic use of cannabis would likely be more accepted in medical systems and hospitals nationwide, providing cannabis nurses with new career options in conventional systems. Rescheduling also reduces barriers to clinical research, allowing science to lead as opposed to unfounded fears.?

Potentially, the most significant shift for the cannabis industry, reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule 3 would remove the significant financial barriers for cannabis businesses caused by 280E taxation. Cannabis businesses will be able to deduct regular business expenses, invest in people and training, and lower the costs of cannabis products across the country.?

ACNA Advocates for Descheduling of Cannabis?

Following the AP report, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, along with co-sponsorship from 15 other Senators, re-introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). If enacted, the legislation would effectively deschedule cannabis and remove it from the CSA.?

The CAOA seeks to deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, thereby eliminating federal intervention threats and allowing state-approved cannabis programs to thrive. It establishes a robust regulatory framework to govern the industry, ensuring the growth of medical and adult-use cannabis programs. CAOA aims to promote research by easing regulatory constraints and includes measures to expunge past cannabis-related offenses, addressing the injustices of prolonged criminalization.

This is a pivotal and critical time in cannabis history, the ACNA implores policymakers and community leaders to advocate for the changes required to repair the social injustices that disproportionately harm communities of color, reduce unjust business constraints, and protect the health of our communities as a whole. The American Cannabis Nurses Association remains committed to advocating for cannabis to be descheduled and removed from the Controlled Substances Act.?

To join or learn more about American Cannabis Nurses Association please visit: https://www.cannabisnurses.org

References?

American Cannabis Nurses Association. (2024). ACNA Advocacy for Cannabis

descheduling. Retrieved from?

https://www.cannabisnursesassociation.org/advocacy

American Civil Liberties Union. (2020). A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted

Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform. Retrieved from

https://www.aclu.org/report/tale-two-countries-racially-targeted-arrests-era-marijuana-reform

Associated Press. (2024, April 30). U.S. Justice Department reschedules cannabis.

Retrieved from https://www.apnews.com

Drug Enforcement Administration. (2024). Controlled Substances Act. Retrieved from

?https://www.dea.gov/controlled-substances-act

Drug Enforcement Administration. (2017). Ketamine. Retrieved from

https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/ketamine

Miron, J. A. (2019). The budgetary effects of marijuana prohibition. Retrieved from

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3418287

Schumer, C., Booker, C., & Wyden, R. (2024). Cannabis Administration and Opportunity

Act. Retrieved from? https://www.congress.gov/cannabis-administration-opportunity-act

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). Key Substance

Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/cbhsq-reports/NSDUHNationalFindingsReport2018/NSDUHNationalFindingsReport2018.pdf

Sznitman, S. R., & Bretteville-Jensen, A. L. (2015). Public opinion and medical cannabis

policies: Examining the role of underlying beliefs and national medical cannabis?

policies. Harm Reduction Journal, 12, 46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-015-0082-x

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2024). Recommendation on Cannabis

Reschedule. Retrieved from?

https://www.hhs.gov/recommendation-cannabis-reschedule

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2024). Cannabis Rescheduling. Retrieved from?

https://www.fda.gov/cannabis-rescheduling

Comments can be made here - https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/DEA-2024-0059-0001

Please see article written by NORML - https://norml.org/act/tell-the-dea-that-cannabis-doesnt-belong-in-schedule-i/