White House Plans to Ease Restrictions on Marijuana

White House Plans to Ease Restrictions on Marijuana

While polls are not to be trusted, they can be at least entertaining and sometimes align with observed realities. Take, for example, a recent poll that looked at Biden’s support among young Americans.

His support in that demographic has gone up in smoke.

In the 2020 election, around 60 percent of people ages 18-29 voted for the Democrat.

But according to a Harvard Youth Poll released earlier this month, Biden’s support among this age group has now declined, with 45 percent of 18-29 year olds planning to vote for him. While this is still more than the 37 percent who say they will vote for Trump, this shows Biden’s support among the youth has significantly declined.

This collapse has occurred after a myriad of actions to executive order away student loan debt.

It’s time for a new approach. Now the White House is planning to ease restrictions on marijuana.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.

The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect.

Marijuana would be classified as a Schedule III drug rather than a Schedule 1 substance. However, there are still many restrictions on Schedule III material.

Schedule III drugs — which include ketamine, anabolic steroids and some acetaminophen-codeine combinations — are still controlled substances.

They’re subject to various rules that allow for some medical uses, and for federal criminal prosecution of anyone who traffics in the drugs without permission.

No changes are expected to the medical marijuana programs now licensed in 38 states or the legal recreational cannabis markets in 23 states, but it’s unlikely they would meet the federal production, record-keeping, prescribing and other requirements for Schedule III drugs.

There haven’t been many federal prosecutions for simply possessing marijuana in recent years, even under marijuana’s current Schedule I status, but the reclassification wouldn’t have an immediate impact on people already in the criminal justice system.

“Put simple, this move from Schedule I to Schedule III is not getting people out of jail,” said David Culver, senior vice president of public affairs at the U.S. Cannabis Council.

However, the sound-bite is good, and Biden may think this is a smooth and suave play for the youth vote.

‘I think he’s probably grasping at straws in terms of how he’s going to appeal to younger people across the country,’ Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., told DailyMail.com.

‘They grab on to this or that to see if they can kind of bolster some of the support they’ve lost,’ he continued. ‘It is peculiar that they look at it right now. And to me, that’s probably mostly politically motivated.’

Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, agreed, telling DailyMail.com, ‘I assume everything is an election year gimmick.’

However, it may be a lifeline to a state that massively supports Biden – California. The move helps the struggling pot industry deal with the tax repercussions of selling a Schedule I material.

The tax burden, though, has been particularly onerous. Section 280E of the federal tax code bars businesses involved in “trafficking” of Schedule I or II substances from deducting the expenses they incur. As a result, they are taxed on every dollar they collect, not just their profits.

But if marijuana is reclassified as a Schedule III drug, “players in that industry for the first time will be able to take standard tax deductions that other businesses take,” said Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also known as NORML, which advocates for cannabis consumers. “The biggest change is going to be how the industry does business.”

“The industry in California especially has been faltering in the last couple of years and this offers them a future,” Manzuri said. “It might be a lifeline that they need to continue operating.”

If Biden wins in November, the pot business may be one of the few growth industries that will exist. Who wants to go through another term of Biden completely sober?

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