A former U.S. Justice Department official argues that the use of medical marijuana by Christians may be biblically justified if cannabis is federally rescheduled, saying in a new paper that \u201cthe federal government will inevitably\u201d enact the reform.<\/p>\n
But consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes would remain \u201cinconsistent\u201d with biblical principles even after rescheduling, he said.<\/p>\n
The paper in the journal Indiana Health Law Review, titled \u201cChristian Faith and Marijuana Use After Federal Rescheduling,\u201d offers an analysis of how a proposed rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would comport with religious doctrine on the use of certain drugs.<\/p>\n
It states that \u201cafter rescheduling and consistent with biblical principles, people will presumably be able to use it therapeutically just as they use other intoxicants for their legitimate medicinal needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not necessarily the case, however. A reclassification of marijuana to Schedule III would not federally legalize the plant. While other Schedule III drugs such as Xanax can be prescribed by doctors, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would need to approve cannabis as a medicine in order for it to be prescribed\u2014and most experts agree there\u2019s a slim chance of that given the agency\u2019s reluctance to approve botanical medications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe general public probably does not realize that marijuana possession remains a federal crime, even in states that have substantially decriminalized its manufacture, distribution, and use,\u201d the paper from Melvin Otey of Faulkner University says. \u201cFor law-abiding persons, marijuana\u2019s status as a Schedule I controlled substance means it cannot be consumed medicinally or recreationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, there are strong indications that federal authorities will eventually reschedule the hallucinogen,\u201d Otey, who served as a trial attorney in DOJ\u2019s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section from 2000 to 2003 and in the Organized Crime and Gang Section from 2007 to 2014, wrote.<\/p>\n
He clarified that, in his view, \u201ceven after rescheduling, law-abiding people will not be free to use the drug recreationally because it will remain a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoreover, recreational use would be inconsistent with several biblical principles,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf California\u2019s laws proscribing marijuana were once typical, then perhaps it logically follows that the state\u2019s deregulation was a harbinger of things to come,\u201d the former DOJ official said.<\/p>\n
He also said that \u201cclassical economic theory\u201d lends to the idea that, following legalization, there tend to be \u201clower prices and easier access, factors that ultimately beget increased consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the study author\u2019s analysis<\/a>, other research has shown that religious people are significantly less likely to support legalizing marijuana<\/a> compared to those who identify as atheists and other religiously unaffiliated groups.<\/p>\n As far as rescheduling is concerned, President Donald Trump endorsed the reform on the campaign trail ahead of his second term. And he said more recently that a decision on the proposal is imminent, without giving a clear indication of his current position.<\/p>\n As Trump continues to weigh the rescheduling proposal<\/a>, a Democratic congresswoman said this month there\u2019s been more discussion among lawmakers about cannabis reform recently\u2013adding that she\u2019ll \u201ccontinue to push for\u201d other modest policy changes such as industry banking access.<\/p>\n The post Christians Will Be Able To Use Medical Marijuana After Trump \u2018Inevitably\u2019 Reschedules It, Former DOJ Official Says In New Religious Analysis<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A former U.S. Justice Department official argues that the use of medical marijuana by Christians may be biblically justified if cannabis is federally rescheduled, saying in a new paper that \u201cthe federal government will inevitably\u201d enact the reform. But consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes would remain \u201cinconsistent\u201d with biblicalContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83454"}],"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\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83455,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83454\/revisions\/83455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Christians Will Be Able To Use Medical Marijuana After Trump \u2018Inevitably\u2019 Reschedules It, Former DOJ Official Says In New Religious Analysis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"