STATEWIDE — The Biden Administration says they have begun the process of rescheduling marijuana as a less dangerous drug and it could have a big impact on what it means for laws against it in Indiana.
Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level regardless of if marijuana is rescheduled and it’s the same when it comes to Indiana state statute, but the White House says it has instructed the Justice Department to begin rescheduling pot from a Schedule 1 drug to a Schedule 3 drug.
This would liken pot to that of cough syrup, Tylenol, suboxone, or codeine, which are both Schedule 3 drugs that people use for medicinal purposes.
“It does not legalize cannabis,” said State Sen. Greg Taylor. “But, what it does is it says now you can treat cannabis, THC like other industries that can be regulated.”
Gov. Eric Holcomb has said before that he will not support legalizing pot in Indiana until lawmakers in Washington say otherwise. That has come even as there have been bipartisan efforts in the Statehouse to at least legalize pot for medical purposes.
“There are 38 states that have some sort of cannabis policy that regulates the use of cannabis like we do for alcohol,” Taylor said. “I don’t think it’s far fetched to allow us to do the same thing.”
24 states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use.
For now, the rescheduling of marijuana is only in the initial phases. The DEA must hold a public comment period on the proposal first. The final say rests with Attorney General Marick Garland for the rescheduling can take effect.
The effort has already gotten lots of bipartisan support from members of Congress.
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