Schedule 3 meaning they consider it more risky than the famously safe Xanax, Ambien and Tramadol which are all schedule 4.
Don’t get me wrong, it would be a huge step in the right direction from being schedule 1, but putting weed in the same category as PCP and steroids is objectively silly.
Also, why do I feel like the DEA will just wipe their asses with the recommendation and continue throwing minorities in jail?
Agreed, but they have to do it this way. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough research when we are talking about major policy changes. That’s in large part due to it being Schedule I. Could you imagine them broadly legalizing it and then new research comes out disproving what we think we know? Doing it this way paves the way for substantial research and much easier access. I’d call it a big win, although it seems we are still a ways off from full legalization.
It’s pretty crazy how backwards the process is with marijuana. You’d think it should have never been scheduled in the first place, and if we found significant dangers from using it we would schedule it then, rather than assuming it’s dangerous and having to prove the opposite to get it unscheduled.
Unsurprisingly, prohibition was rooted in racism and xenophobia. It was popular among Mexican immigrants. Before long, Texas cops started telling stories about how it incited violence, gave criminals superhuman strength, and bad Mexicans were giving it to American kids. As an aside, I remember a cop coming to school when I was a kid to teach DARE class and he told us the same thing about PCP. I guess some things never change. Then there was the Reefer Madness movie and the idea that Mexicans would get high and rape white women. Prior to all of this, marijuana had been used by white people - as well as others - to treat all sorts of ailments.
No time for a longer comment now, but google "Harry Ainslinger Quotes Marijuana" (first head of the organization that eventually became the DEA) and also "John Ehrlichman Hippies and Blacks" and you'll find that like most of the other bullshit in our country, it actually does boil down to racism.
one of the only substances to have fatal withdrawal
implicated in numerous deaths (due to intoxication)
harms pregnancy
can cause heart issues, neurological issues, liver damage, etc.
not a scheduled DEA substance
Marijuana
none of the above (effects on pregnancy can include low birth weight and preterm labor - evidence is mixed. Certainly nothing close to the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome).
There is conflicting data on the outcome of marijuana with pregnancy around the effect on birth weight and potential for preterm labor. To be clear: marijuana is not recommended in pregnancy.
The point I was trying to draw was between fetal alcohol syndrome, which is potentially devastating and the evidence is conclusive.
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