Recognizing marijuana’s therapeutic uses, investigating its safety makes sense – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

It’s time to drop the pretense that marijuana is a dangerous drug with no therapeutic value. Is it completely safe? No, but the identified health risks (aside from the hazards associated with smoking it) are generally rare or mild. Is it addictive? In some people, dependence is a risk.

Does it belong in the same category of drug as heroin, LSD and Ecstasy? No. Yet there it sits, classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Officially, that declares it to have a high potential for abuse, and no known health benefit.

Floridians know better by now. Americans know better. The vast majority live in the 38 states that have decriminalized use of medical marijuana. And an increasing number of states have taken down barriers to recreational use as well. It seems increasingly likely that Florida voters will have the chance to do that in a little more than a year.

Editorial: Moody’s case against recreational cannabis doesn’t hold up

It’s time to move pot into a classification that makes more sense. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed that the agency is seeking a shift from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA.  It’s the right move. The number of lives ruined by prosecutions of people caught using or possessing pot far outweighs any documented health or addiction risks, and there’s an increasing body of evidence suggesting that its therapeutic…