Rescheduling medical marijuana opens Pandora’s box

Picture this — hundreds of dispensaries closed in Colorado, people having to go to a local pharmacy to get their marijuana, then paying out of pocket because their drug insurance policy doesn’t cover it. Add to this, the loss to Colorado of hundreds of millions in <a href="https://www.coloradopolitics.com/denver/denver-s-2020-cannabis-tax-revenue-up-17/article_b0dbe251-4940-5b22-adba-184334e0f345.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">annual tax revenue</a> and <a href="https://coloradocannabistours.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">tourism dollars</a>. All of this could happen, if the proposed rescheduling of medical marijuana to DEA Schedule III is approved, <a href="https://gazette.com/colorado_politics/colorado-atttorney-general-signs-onto-letter-favoring-marijuana-rescheduling/article_24d12c7d-320f-56a7-9e1e-fd526c066ee2.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">a change supported</a> by Attorney General Phil Weiser and <a href="https://gazette.com/colorado_politics/jared-polis-democrat-governors-urge-biden-administration-to-move-forward-on-cannabis-rescheduling/article_a5bf9659-c5b9-599d-93ea-0af5465bbaa1.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Gov. Jared Polis</a>. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently made an unprecedented recommendation, asking marijuana be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the <a href="https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/csa" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Controlled Substances Act</a>. A <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pw3rfs9gm6lg80ij9tja6/2023-01171-Supplemental-Release-1.pdf?rlkey=v5atj0tcnhxhnszyyzcwdcvvt&dl=0" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">letter</a> from <a href="https://www.usphs.gov/leadership/assistant-secretary-for-health-ash/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Dr. Rachel Levine</a>, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health, to the to the <a href="https://www.dea.gov/about/dea-leadership" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator</a>, indicated the review was in response to a request from President Joe Biden. This is the latest initiative in his drug policy evolution, which has included <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/07/biden-weed-executive-action-dea-00060978" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">pardons</a> for drug offenders and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dariosabaghi/2022/12/03/biden-signs-medical-marijuana-research-bill/?sh=13b5c0d07c69" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">support</a> for expanded research opportunities. <a href="https://medium.com/@johnmwmd/rescheduling-medical-marijuana-opens-pandoras-box-99a958da628b">Website</a>