America's New Rules on Weed

"For more than 50 years, America's official position on marijuana has been seen as nonsensical. By classifying pot as a Schedule I drug, the federal government has lumped it with heroin and LSD as substances with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." In 1972, two years after marijuana was relegated to the most restrictive category of drugs in America, a government report found that weed's "actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it.""

"Even with the federal classification, states have been experimenting with marijuana legalization for nearly three decades. These laws have led to fewer marijuana-related arrests without dramatic increases in crime, and they haven't substantially spiked the rate of illicit adolescent cannabis use. Although fully legalizing recreational marijuana remains controversial, it's clear that smoking a joint from your local dispensary is not the same as using heroin."

"Now America's marijuana policies are getting a bit more in line with the actual science. Today, Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the government to move the drug into Schedule III, a classification for substances with "moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence." As the president emphasized in the Oval Office, the action "doesn't legalize marijuana in any way, shape, or form." Selling marijuana without a prescription will still be a federal crime, just as trafficking anabolic steroids (also a Schedule III drug) is illegal."

America classified marijuana as Schedule I for more than 50 years, grouping it with heroin and LSD as having "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." A 1972 government report found weed's "actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it." States have legalized marijuana in various forms for nearly three decades, producing fewer marijuana-related arrests without major crime increases or large rises in adolescent use. The federal government moved marijuana to Schedule III, which retains criminal penalties for nonprescription sales and is expected to ease medical research hurdles that Schedule I vetting created.

Read at The Atlantic