Cannabis to Be Reclassified as a Schedule III Drug

The U.S. Justice Department recently moved to reclassify cannabis/marijuana as a less dangerous Schedule III drug. For decades, it was designated a Schedule I drug, officially putting it at the same danger level and abuse potential as heroin, LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and others.

As a Schedule III drug, if the move is approved (which is expected), cannabis will be in the more appropriate company of drugs such as ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone, and acetaminophen-codeine.

This change makes some sense from a pharmacological perspective. My concern, however, is that cannabis’s reclassification will be seen by the public as one more instance of the positive hype that already surrounds cannabis. As I’ll discuss in a minute, that’s a dangerous perception.

For now, here are four key things to know about the DOJ’s proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III:

1. It’s not official yet. The White House Office of Management and Budget has to review the proposal, and it needs to go through a public comment phase as well. However, most believe the reclassification will happen. It’s just a question of when.

2. Cannabis will still be illegal at the federal level. The reclassification won’t affect the drug’s legal status. Though it is illegal federally, medical marijuana is legal in 38 states and Washington, DC, and legal for recreational use in 24 states and Washington, DC. Note: Though cannabis is illegal at the federal level, federal prosecutions for simple possession have been rare in recent years, certainly compared to the misbegotten “War on Drugs” campaign of the 1980s.

3. Research on cannabis will be much easier to do. This may be the best outcome of reclassifying the drug, in my opinion. It is very difficult to do authorized clinical studies on Schedule I drugs, which cannabis has always been. Therefore, we don’t have a lot of good research on its safety, long-term effects, addictiveness, and so on.

4. We’ll hopefully get a better sense of what cannabis oversight looks like. If full legalization eventually arrives, which this reclassification makes more likely, we will now have the impetus to learn from the states about oversight—i.e. what’s worked, and what hasn’t worked.

For example, I believe we need to get a far better handle on the marketing that is required around cannabis. We need strong warning labels and other danger messages.

Here’s why we need to be careful about cannabis

Speaking of warning labels, I constantly warn people about the dangers of cannabis use. One problem is that marijuana’s marketing, spin, and “it’s all good” vibe have gotten way out in front of the science on the drug. As a consequence, the public perception of cannabis is skewed far more positively than it should be.

The key problem—and this is where people get into trouble with addiction—is that cannabis is essentially not the same drug as it was 20, 30, or more years ago. It is far more potent.

At the addiction treatment center where I am the chief medical officer, we see the results of that increased potency. We treat a lot of patients with cannabis use disorder (CUD), a difficult condition to manage.

Here’s what’s important to know about cannabis:

It’s addictive. If a person gets addicted, it can wreak havoc on their life. Even if it doesn’t become an addiction, marijuana can trigger changes in the brain that lead to other serious problems (more on that below).

It’s especially dangerous when used by people under age 25 whose brains are still developing. For example, research has shown that people who start using marijuana before age 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop CUD. This disorder can rewire the brains of young people, with disastrous results over the long term.

It’s way more potent than ever. In the 1990s, the average THC concentration of cannabis in the U.S. was about 4 percent. (THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive part of the cannabis plant.) By 2018, the average THC concentration nearly quadrupled to more than 15 percent. Today, it’s probably higher still.

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It can lead to serious mental illness. Marijuana has the potential to “switch on” certain genes that can lead to chronic psychosis and schizophrenia in young people. Males are at a higher risk for this than females, but it happens in both genders.

It increases the risk of ER visits and traffic deaths. A 2022 Canadian study showed that marijuana users are 25 percent more likely to need emergency care and hospitalization than non-users. A 2023 study found that in seven states that legalized cannabis for recreational use, the death rate from motor vehicle accidents rose 10 percent on average.

Note: The available traffic accident data is why the American Truckers Association (ATA), the trucking industry’s largest trade association, is against cannabis reclassification to a less dangerous category.

Final thoughts on cannabis

We don’t know a lot about the science of cannabis, especially the effects of long-term use on the brain. We’re also fairly clueless about how to do proper oversight of this potent drug.

Reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III drug is going to help in both of those areas. So yes, that is welcome news.

But the larger point is this: Regardless of its classification status, cannabis remains a dangerous, potentially addictive drug that is available in more potent forms than ever before.

Therefore, my advice is to avoid it altogether. For most people, the considerable risks outweigh the benefits.