DEAR POT LAWYER,
I heard that the feds may relax the legal status of weed. That's good, right?
It's okay. Actually, I don't really like it.
The federal Controlled Substances Act is a statute that regulates certain substances, including their manufacture, distribution, and use. One of those is weed. The act contains five separate "schedules" to classify the controlled substances, depending on how intensely the feds believe each must be controlled. Schedule V, which is the lowest, contains things like cough suppressants and anti-diarrheal drugs. Schedule I, which is highest, is reserved for substances with "a high potential for abuse" and "no safe dose." It contains things like heroin, MDMA, Quaaludes, and, somehow, weed. Even doctors cannot prescribe these substances.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently announced it will consider rescheduling cannabis. This came in response to a letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren and some colleagues, which urged the feds to allow more research into the benefits of medical marijuana. The DEA acknowledged that it "understands the widespread interest in the prompt resolution of these petitions... and hopes to release its determination in the first half of 2016." We shall see.
Still, shuttling weed to Schedule II or even Schedule III, in my opinion, falls short of the reform needed.