Feds Need To Lighten Up Their Stance On Weed, NJ Attorney General Says

NEW JERSEY — It’s time for the feds to ease up their stance on marijuana, New Jersey’s attorney general says.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently announced that it is considering “rescheduling” cannabis from a Schedule I drug – which includes drugs like heroin, LSD and ecstasy – to a Schedule III drug with accepted medical uses, alongside others like ketamine and anabolic steroids.

If the agency takes the leap, marijuana wouldn’t be legalized in the United States. However, the rule change would help protect the legal rights of cannabis users across the nation. It would also drastically ease existing federal regulations involving the legal cannabis industry, including in New Jersey, where a “green rush” has been booming since the state legalized weed.

Thousands of commenters have submitted feedback in favor of the rule change to the DEA, including cannabis users, state regulators, advocates, health experts and public officials. It’s expected to take months before the DEA renders its final decision.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin was among them.

Earlier this week, Platkin submitted a comment in support of rescheduling marijuana, arguing that it would be a “welcome step toward a legal framework that would allow for common-sense regulation of a legal cannabis market for adults.”

“Focusing on responsible regulation of legal possession of cannabis for medical and adult recreational use undercuts and weakens the illicit cannabis market and many of the problems that come with it,” Platkin wrote.

“The [DEA’s] much-needed action will help bolster the efforts New Jersey has undertaken at the state level to ensure that individuals and communities have access to comprehensive legal protections and benefits in connection with the state-sanctioned use of cannabis,” Platkin continued.

“Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III will continue the process of building an equitable framework of common-sense legal protections for all affected people and communities,” he added.

Read Platkin’s full letter below, or view it online here.

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