Pubdate: Sun, 29 Mar 2015
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2015 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233

MARIJUANA SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM SCHEDULE I LIST

Las Vegas Review-Journal With February's Nevada caucuses fast
approaching, the Review-Journal is publishing a 10-editorial series on
policies and government reforms all candidates should be able to get
behind. The fifth policy goal we'd like all presidential candidates to
champion: removing marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled
Substances Act.

Marijuana laws are among the most perplexing laws in the nation. While
federal law bans any and all uses of the drug, many states allow the
possession, production and use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Meanwhile, since the federal government argues that federal law trumps
state law, the federal government can, in theory, prohibit the use of
marijuana anywhere it wants to, and the states can't do anything about
it.

The federal government doesn't stop marijuana sales or purchases when
they don't violate state law, but the legal lines are blurred when the
drug is bought and sold across legalized and non-legalized state
lines. In these cases, the federal government essentially chooses not
to enforce its own laws.

As you can imagine, the current contradicting treatment of marijuana
trade and usage has created a frustrating, unsettled situation for
marijuana users and producers, as well as members of law enforcement
and lawmakers. Either the federal government goes full force and bans
it outright, or it ends all bans on the drug. Both are neither
particularly realistic options, however, as politics would block the
ending of marijuana prohibition, while banning the drug nationwide
would do nothing but create more black markets and the violence that
goes along with them.

Rather, in a nation where increasing numbers of Americans favor
marijuana legalization, removing the drug from Schedule 1 makes the
most sense.

Back in March, Sens. Rand Paul, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand
introduced a Senate bill that would require the Drug Enforcement
Administration to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II
under the Controlled Substances Act.

The DEA currently defines Schedule I drugs as substances "with no
currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." They
are "the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with
potentially severe psychological or physical dependence." These drugs
include heroin, LSD, ecstasy and marijuana. Since marijuana is now
widely used for medicinal purposes, it makes more sense to classify
the drug under Schedule II, which as the DEA says, is comprised of
drugs that have "less abuse potential than Schedule I drugs," but "are
also considered dangerous." These include drugs such as
methamphetamine, Oxycontin, and Adderall.

Beyond getting the Department of Justice out of the growing legal
marijuana industry, reclassifying marijuana will keep more nonviolent
offenders out of jail and prison, as well as generate more tax revenue
for states and local governments.

It's an important a=C2=80" and long overdue a=C2=80" start to changing th
e
costly trajectory of the failed war on drugs.
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