Cannabis Inches One Step Closer to Schedule III

At the cash register of virtually every supermarket and convenience store in Florida is a sign informing you that, if you were born after today’s date in 2005, you cannot buy alcoholic beverages. What the signs don’t say is that, if you are within that age range, cannabis has been in legal limbo for as long as you can remember. Medical cannabis programs in the 420 friendliest states began when you were in elementary school, and since then, the social and legal acceptance of cannabis has only expanded. Even though Florida has not decriminalized cannabis possession at the statewide level, its medical cannabis program has many enthusiastic participants, and some local governments, including those in the Orlando area, have enacted laws reclassifying illegal possession of small quantities of cannabis as a civil infraction, more like a traffic ticket than a criminal charge. This is a major disconnect from federal law, which still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance. A recent executive order is the latest in the long series of steps toward removing the Schedule I designation from Florida’s favorite drug. If you are facing criminal charges arising from the possession or sale of cannabis, contact a Florida drug offenses attorney.

How Does the New Executive Order Affect the Legal Status of Cannabis?

Schedule I controlled substances are drugs of abuse that have no legally accepted medical indications. Many drugs in this category, from cannabis to psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, ayahuasca, and iboga, have outspoken supporters who argue that these drugs have therapeutic potential and that, when used to treat certain medical conditions, they are no riskier than the currently approved treatments. This debate tends to center on the treatment of chronic pain and psychiatric conditions, where commonly prescribed drugs can have debilitating side effects and where finding an effective medication can be a matter of trial and error.

It is one person’s word against another’s whether cannabis is a healing herb or a malevolent menace without clinical trials; the same goes for any other Schedule I controlled substance. Unfortunately, it is illegal to perform clinical trials involving Schedule I drugs. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order making exceptions so that some clinical trials involving psilocybin and iboga can proceed. Also this month, he signed another executive order allowing the expansion of medical cannabis programs at the statewide levels and encouraging Congress to continue the process of rescheduling cannabis as Schedule III, which would remove barriers to clinical trials. This does not change the consequences for consumers who get caught illegally possessing or selling cannabis. In the past several years, there have been several executive orders that aim to reschedule cannabis, but it still remains Schedule I.

Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases

A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing charges for possession of cannabis, which you consider therapeutic but which, according to the law, is a Schedule I controlled substance.  Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-eases-regulation-on-state-licensed-marijuana/ar-AA21yZiP?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=69e975cef44a4541905e104dd6477412&ei=11