Vice President Kamala Harris says it’s time to legalize marijuana—marking the first time she has publicly discussed her position on cannabis since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. “I just feel strongly, people should not be going to jail for smoking weed,” she said in an interview with the All the Smoke podcast that was released […]
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if they reschedule it it is no longer federal illegal. States that want to ban it would still have their laws but removing it from banned substance lists would also remove the federal road blocks to legal use; banking rules, insurance, etc. It should be decheduled entirely and then legislators, state and federal, could decide legality.
Rescheduling would protect access to cannabis with a prescription, but it would not mandate national decriminalization. Recreational use would still be determined by the state, with potential for federal charges, and people currently incarcerated for use or distribution of cannabis would remain in prison.
Well, to be more specific it would be the Controlled Substance Act. But, the intention of my comment was to highlight that any substance scheduled couldn’t really be considered “recreational” to the federal government.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if they reschedule it it is no longer federal illegal. States that want to ban it would still have their laws but removing it from banned substance lists would also remove the federal road blocks to legal use; banking rules, insurance, etc. It should be decheduled entirely and then legislators, state and federal, could decide legality.
Rescheduling would protect access to cannabis with a prescription, but it would not mandate national decriminalization. Recreational use would still be determined by the state, with potential for federal charges, and people currently incarcerated for use or distribution of cannabis would remain in prison.
Wouldn’t it realistically have to be descheduled to be recreational under the DEA though?
The DEA doesn’t determine criminalization, only enforcement. That legislation is written by Congress.
The DEA approves the rescheduling or descheduling, but not decriminalization.
Well, to be more specific it would be the Controlled Substance Act. But, the intention of my comment was to highlight that any substance scheduled couldn’t really be considered “recreational” to the federal government.
That’s true. Decriminalizing without descheduling wouldn’t help.