JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following the Drug Enforcement Administration’s push to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, News4JAX is looking into what the change could mean and impact the industry in Florida.
“I think this is the government catching up to sort of the popular opinion,” CEO of Insa Cannabis, Pete Gallagher, said.
The proposal would move the drug from a Schedule I to a Schedule III classification. This move would place marijuana in the same category as anabolic steroids, ketamine, and Tylenol with codeine.
And it can be lawfully prescribed as medication. It was previously in the same category as heroin and cocaine.
Gallagher said the company sells both medical and recreational marijuana to its customers across the country including Jacksonville.
“I think it does a lot to change the perception and the stigma around cannabis. It’s a product that when you look at the risk benefit profile of it, it’s very favorable. And I think you can help a lot of people enhance their lives. And that’s why I think this is a great step for the industry, even if it’s one more perception then going to full legalization step,” Gallagher said.
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However, the reclassification doesn’t change much for consumers in Florida. Residents will still need a medical marijuana card to buy marijuana in a shop.
The big shift is that the DEA is recognizing marijuana’s medical uses for things like managing pain, anxiety, and insomnia.
“Hopefully people that were afraid of it because it was classified as having no medical benefit or a higher risk of abuse similar to a drug like heroin, may now look at it as a viable therapeutic option for them to help enhance their lives,” Gallagher said.
Jacksonville Defense Attorney Gene Nichols said the reclassification won’t impact criminal cases.
“It’s not going to impact anybody who is currently in jail or is being prosecuted for possession of marijuana in any form of federal or state level,” Nichols said.
Nichols has defended people with drug charges including possession and trafficking of marijuana.
“Bringing it from this Schedule 1 down to a Schedule III will allow the government to start incrementally fixing everything that needs to be fixed and change in order to get to the point sooner or later that there’ll be decriminalization at the federal level,” Nichols said.
The proposal won’t legalize marijuana for recreational use or decriminalize the drug. Schedule III drugs are still controlled substances.
However, the reclassification opens the doors to federal legalization and research opportunities that were not possible before.
“It’s important to understand that this is not a legalization of cannabis. But there is a ballot question in Florida in November, question three, legalizing cannabis. And I think this will do a lot to push support of that,” Gallagher said.