In a historic milestone in federal cannabis reform, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has urged the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, opening the dual possibility of researching the plant\u2019s therapeutic potential and expanding the cannabis industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The recommendation signifies the HHS\u2019s shift in perspective regarding cannabis; instead of viewing it as a substance with high potential for abuse and no medical application, the HHS now recognizes the plant\u2019s potential benefits. This recommendation appears to align with the department\u2019s aim to \u201cprotect the health of the US people and providing essential human services,\u201d per its motto of \u201cImproving the health, safety and well-being of America.\u201d<\/p>\n
The HHS\u2019s recommendation follows an administrative review of cannabis\u2019 current Schedule I classification requested by President Joe Biden<\/a> to the Secretary of HHS and the attorney general in 2022. After thorough scientific assessment, the findings prompted the HHS to propose moving cannabis to Schedule III. Although not legally binding, this recommendation carries significant meaning.<\/p>\n In a comment to\u00a0Marijuana Moment<\/a><\/em>, an HHC spokesperson said, \u201cFollowing the data and science, HHS has expeditiously responded to President Biden\u2019s directive to HHS Secretary Becerra and provided its scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA on August 29, 2023. This administrative process was completed in less than 11 months, reflecting this department\u2019s collaboration and leadership to ensure that a comprehensive scientific evaluation be completed and shared expeditiously.\u201d<\/p>\n During a briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reinforced that the president asked the Secretary of HHS and the attorney general to review how cannabis is scheduled and that it\u2019ll be an \u201cindependent process.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs you know, the administration process is an independent process, led by HHS, led by the Department of Justice and guided by evidence, so I\u2019m going to leave it to HHS and DOJ to move that process,\u201d Jean-Pierre said.<\/p>\n If the DEA were to adopt the HHS\u2019s proposal to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III substance, it would lead to significant political and economic developments.<\/p>\n The reclassification would enable cannabis businesses access to federal tax deductions, a privilege currently denied to companies with Schedule I or II products. The change would lead to financial consequences, as the cannabis industry has faced significantly higher tax rates due to this limitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Patrick Rea, Managing Director of Poseidon Garden Ventures<\/a>, says they\u2019re cautiously optimistic about the news.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, moving cannabis off Schedule I is the right decision and long overdue. Though a full descheduling would be preferred and likely most appropriate for cannabis, we welcome smart decisions and progress towards full legalization and regulation in the legal cannabis industry,\u201d Rea said. \u201cWe\u2019ll follow the federal government\u2019s progress towards Schedule III with specific attention to how this impacts investment strategies and returns, just as we have done since 2013. The federal government needs to act to participate in shaping the legal cannabis industry. We welcome these positive outcomes from a formal review of cannabis placement on the CSA. With cannabis moving to Schedule III, the industry expects IRS Code 280E to no longer apply to marijuana businesses, resulting in much lower effective tax rates for businesses across the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Autumn Shelton, chief financial officer of California-based Autumn Brands<\/a>, echoes the sentiment that removing the 280e \u201ctax burden\u201d would be welcomed by cannabis companies and help remove lingering negative stereotypes pertaining to the plant.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is truly an incredible moment! While ideally, we want to see cannabis descheduled, we understand that even little victories are important on our journey to federal legalization,\u201d Shelton told\u00a0Cannabis Now<\/em>. \u201cMoving from a Schedule I would be a great step towards legalization and removing the remaining stigma. It would also eliminate the 280e<\/a> federal tax burden that so many legal State businesses struggle with. 280e doesn\u2019t allow businesses to deduct normal expenses, meaning their federal net income could be hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars more than it is, thus owing more in taxes than their net income. I know many passionate people have been working hard behind the scenes to make this happen. Come on, DEA and President Biden! Let\u2019s do this!\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, the reclassification would benefit cannabis researchers by removing the draconian DEA registration process necessary to obtain cannabis for studies, a requirement linked to Schedule I categorization.<\/p>\n The post Federal Health Agency Recommends DEA Reclassify Cannabis to Schedule III<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In a historic milestone in federal cannabis reform, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has urged the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, opening the dual possibility of researching the plant\u2019s therapeutic potential and expanding the cannabis industry.\u00a0 The recommendationContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13242,17385,50,2355,848,17371,17386,90,17387,17388,2210,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68076,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68075\/revisions\/68076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Opportunities for the Cannabis Industry<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: Federal Health Agency Recommends DEA Reclassify Cannabis to Schedule III<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"