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Marijuana reclassification helps ease restrictions
The Trump administration is reclassifying medical marijuana from a Schedule One drug to a Schedule Three drug. This move opens the door for new research, and may lead to lower prices for consumers. FOX 10's Jacob Luthi has more.
PHOENIX - The Trump administration is reclassifying certain kinds of marijuana from a strict Schedule One drug, which includes heroin, to Schedule Three drug, in the same class as Tylenol and codeine.
Dig deeper:
The Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced on April 23 that they are moving FDA-approved and state-licensed medical marijuana products to Schedule Three, lowering their federal restrictions.
"April 23 is a historic day," said Mo Asnani of D2 Dispensary.
Why you should care:
According to the DEA, Schedule One drugs are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, while Schedule Three drugs have recognized medical uses and a lower risk of dependence.
The order creates a fast-track process for state-licensed producers to register with the DEA, something D2 Dispensary partner Moe Asnani says he will have to do within 60 days.
It also eases restrictions on cannabis research, expanding studies into the drug’s safety and effectiveness.
"There'll be more avenues for people to access medical marijuana in different formats, you know, be it gels, be it pain relief from capsules, be it tinctures, things that were before stigmatized," Asnani said.
Other Potential Impact:
Perhaps the most notable change for businesses is that state-licensed medical dispensaries are now eligible for major federal tax breaks, potentially boosting profits and lowering costs for consumers.
"Businesses pay, depending on the state income tax, somewhere between 55% and 70%, so now it'll go like 25 to 30%. So pretty significant," said Story Cannabis CEO Jason Vedadi. "So we should see better pricing to the consumer over time now as well."
Vedadi has been working on cannabis legislation on the state and federal level for years, and while the order does not legalize marijuana federally, Vedadi says it’s a positive step towards acceptance of its benefits.
"I've been doing this a very long time, and I've seen benefits to people who have PTSD. I've seen benefits to pediatric epilepsy," Vedadi said.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered by FOX 10's Jacob Luthi.