What federal changes to Marijuana mean for Ohio’s recreational law
In Ohio’s first full year with legalized recreational marijuana, two proposals at the national level could open new opportunities for the drug as well.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sent forward a motion to remove marijuana from status as a Schedule I drug, where it has sat for over 50 years. This federal classification marked cannabis as one of the nation’s drugs with the highest potential for abuse alongside others like heroin, and no accepted medical use, according to the DEA. The proposal needs review from both the White House Office of Management and Budget and administrative judge before going into effect.
However, marijuana would remain on the controlled substances list even if the motion is approved. The DEA’s proposal reclassifies marijuana as a Schedule III drug, putting it alongside others including Tylenol with codeine, testosterone and anabolic steroids. While still regulated by the agency, it would open the door to potentially easier access to marijuana by researchers to study its medical benefits. How that would be executed, would potentially be laid out in a final rule published by the DEA.
With the DEA’s proposal, little could change on the recreational front for Ohio, where legislators have yet to approve a legal storefront for residents to buy cannabis without a medical prescription. Under Schedule III, marijuana would still fall subject to the agency’s regulation, and federal charges could befall someone possessing it in certain circumstances.
For example, an Ohioan could potentially go to Michigan, which has recreational dispensaries, purchase marijuana and bring it back to Ohio. If they cross state lines with the cannabis, they would be subject to federal drug trafficking laws even with marijuana’s reclassification as a Schedule III drug. The only way for an Ohioan to avoid federal regulation in that situation would be to consume all of the cannabis within Michigan.
Ironically, marijuana has its own set of penalties under the DEA’s trafficking charge system. In certain cases, they are less severe than the ones for Schedule III drugs. Under the current scale, that Ohioan with Michigan marijuana could see at least five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Schedule III drugs could land a person more prison time, but capped at 10 years maximum, and a capped fine at $500,000.
It’s not clear if marijuana would keep its unique consequences if the DEA gets its bid for reclassification approved.
Still, cannabis in one form can legally move between states even while marijuana remains a Schedule I drug. The DEA excludes cannabis seeds from regulation because they don’t contain a noteworthy amount of THC. It’s only after the seeds germinate and become plants that they fall back into regulation.
Simultaneously on Wednesday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced legislation to pull cannabis from the controlled substances list altogether and expunge the criminal records for Americans with low-level offenses related to the drug. While this would have a more immediate effect on marijuana, Schumer and the bill’s 18 sponsors have yet to take action on the legislation.
