Top Ten Reasons NCIA Supports De-Scheduling Cannabis

by Andrew Kline, NCIA’s Director of Public Policy

Today, the House Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security) is holding a hearing on marijuana policy reform proposals and related social equity provisions. While NCIA supports the STATES Act and other incremental approaches to reform, we strongly prefer a longer-term approach that includes de-scheduling cannabis and the inclusion of robust social equity provisions. Let’s get this right the first time around.

Below are the top ten reasons to support de-scheduling: 

1. De-scheduling is good public policy because cannabis should not be classified like a alongside dangerous drugs like heroin and methamphetamines, and cannabis has proven medicinal properties and is safer for adults than alcohol and many over-the-counter medicines.  

2. De-scheduling automatically solves the banking problems plaguing the cannabis industry and automatically cures issues related to the unfair tax provisions imposed by 280E.

3. De-scheduling removes many of the roadblocks in the way of creating an industry that prioritizes and promotes social equity and inclusion.

4. De-Scheduling would allow for cannabis to be transported across state lines in accordance with interstate trade compacts, opening opportunities for licensed growers to get their product into more markets and to stabilize supply and demand issues currently facing some state markets.

5. De-scheduling takes regulatory authority away from the DEA and creates opportunities for the federal government to regulate marijuana through FDA and Treasury with regimes that are more appropriate, given the relative harm of cannabis compared to other adult products.

6. De-scheduling immediately makes federal research and grants possible. 

7. De-scheduling immediately changes current immigration policy that prohibits people with “bad moral character” from applying for citizenship because of their work in the cannabis industry. 

8. De-scheduling allows for the provision of bankruptcy protection for cannabis-related businesses.

9. De-scheduling would allow veterans access to plant-based medicine and retention of VA benefits if they choose to use medicinal marijuana.

10. De-scheduling still allows for state autonomy while simultaneously providing for federal continuity.