by Wyoming Liberty Group
A lot of facts get lost in the sound and fury over the move by the Biden administration to reschedule marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
But those facts are important, especially to us in Wyoming, where we have been successful at blocking pro-pot forces from invading the cowboy state. Marijuana, the mind-altering drug, remains illegal in our state.
But—and it's an important but—we should be aware of some newly disclosed facts about the reclassification of marijuana as a Schedule III drug rather than a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. The change wouldn't just mean that marijuana is considered a less dangerous drug than before.
Oh, no.
It also would mean something else quite serious.
As it turns out, the Congressional Research Service, a public policy research institute that works primarily for members of Congress, recently shed light on a little-known fact about the president's proposal to shift marijuana to Schedule III: That marijuana interests would be able to advertise in newspapers and magazines across the country.
"It is unlawful to knowingly place in any newspaper, magazine, handbill, or other publications any written advertisement that has the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy, or distribute a Schedule I controlled substance," the Congressional Research Service said. "The penalties for doing so are up to four years in prison and/or a criminal fine. These penalties would no longer apply if marijuana moves to Schedule III."
Until now, and for decades, marijuana has not been able to advertise in newspapers and magazines—a federal ban—because it is a Schedule I drug, which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency defines as "drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."
You can't advertise heroin, right?
But imagine the Pandora's Box that would be opened if marijuana becomes a Schedule III drug, which are defined as "drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence" and pro-pot forces start peddling their product to the masses in newspapers and magazines.
Madison Avenue, watch out. We too in Wyoming need to brace ourselves. We, after all, are not immune from newspaper and magazine advertising.
There is, by the way, a reason why advertisers spend a bundle buying advertising in newspapers and magazines. Because they work. Because people can be and are persuaded.
But persuading people to smoke weed? Goodness. How are the marijuana marketeers going to get around all of the known health hazards of marijuana? The respiratory damage? The cost to teenagers' cognitive development? The rash of ER visits, drugged driving accidents and psychotic breaks?
Let's see them advertise around those whoppers. An educated guess: They'll avoid such uncomfortable truths.
But then there's this: We already know that the move to shift marijuana to a Schedule III drug would erode a basic perception of marijuana, creating the illusion that it's safe.
(It ain't.)
In its recent report, the Congressional Research Service also noted another salient fact about what a move to Schedule III would mean for marijuana interests: Boosting tax benefits. Pot businesses would be able to take federal tax deductions, a significant move after being barred from such benefits under the Internal Revenue Service code.
The Congressional Research Service report did note that marijuana would remain illegal federally as a Schedule III drug and it would be prohibited unless prescribed by a physician. But first, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would have to approve pot as medicine, and the agency has limited its approval to only a few derivatives of marijuana for limited use.
"Under federal law, a drug must be approved by the FDA before it may be marketed or prescribed in the United States," the Congressional Research Services report stated. "To date, FDA has approved one cannabis derived drug and three marijuana-related drugs that are available by prescription."
And then, as indicated by the Congressional Research Service report, there's this other little-known fact about the president's pot proposal, which is still being considered.
The shift to Schedule III would allow the nation's capital to legalize the sale of adult-use marijuana. Washington, D.C., has been unable to do so because of a congressional appropriations rider that states that the district cannot use funds to "legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance."
Well, isn't that all we need? Lawmakers in the nation's capital dizzy on the mind altering drug?