Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that it is moving toward removing marijuana from its list of Schedule I drugs definitely got people in the pot business fired up.
“Well.. they got that right!!” actor and cannabis grower Jim Belushi told HuffPost. “Wise up! Keep moving in the right direction! Now, let’s release the cannabis prisoners from prison.”
Still, indica insiders note it’s only a first step.
Lou Police, CEO of Hi Seltzer, a cannabis beverage brand, told HuffPost that he loves the progress being made by the federal government in this space, but stressed that people in the bud biz “don’t want to see this rescheduling or any new federal regulations harm the existing market for both hemp and cannabis products nationwide.”
Until now, cannabis has been considered a Schedule I drug, a term for drugs with a high potential for abuse as well as severe psychological and/or physical dependence.
The DEA now plans to move pot to Schedule III, which is for drugs with only a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.
Milan Patel, the CEO and co-founder of PathogenDX, a cannabis testing company, said the move should “trigger federal regulatory agencies into applying national standards to cannabis testing, as opposed to the kaleidoscope of regulations we have been dealing with across more than 30 states.”
Doing this, he told HuffPost, “will allow good manufacturing practices to come into play throughout the whole supply chain and be taken seriously, ensuring the health and safety of patients and consumers, and setting the industry on a path for longevity and success.”
Cannabis publicist Alice Moon is excited about the move for both personal and professional reasons.
Not only will her business benefit if the laws make it easier for cannabis companies to make a go of it, but the DEA decision could benefit her health as well.
Moon suffers from cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition caused by long-term cannabis use with symptoms that includes severe vomiting, nausea, stomach pain and dehydration.
“I’m excited about the potential research possibilities that rescheduling comes with,” Moon told HuffPost. “While there’s still a ways to go, I think this is a step in the right direction.”
But some people, such as George Sadler, CEO and co-founder of Southern California-based Gelato Canna Company, have mixed feelings about the announcement.
“I’m sure everyone is super pumped about the news,” Sadler said. “But I think a lot of unknowns are there as well.
“When you look at the bigger picture and talk about pharma and what that will do to the price of cannabis and having it in every 7-Eleven ― it’s great for consumerism, but I think it will hurt the industry.”
Still, he said the good news is that cannabis taxes will go down considerably across the board and “cannabis will be treated like any other industry.”
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Leslie Bocskor, CEO of Indoor Harvest Group, called the rescheduling announcement a “massive win” on many levels, but admits, “Now the real work begins.”
Bocskor said a Schedule III cannabis categorization would need to be rectified with state adult use regulation.
“How do we work on federal regulation in general? Now is the time for the federal government and state governments to work together to eliminate the black market,” he said. “And of course, one of my pet interests, let’s see what happens in the public markets. Welcome to the future.”
Sarah Gerstein, Executive Director of the Last Prisoner Project, a group that is fighting the injustices caused by America’s past policy of pot prohibition, calls the DEA announcement “a necessary step towards correcting past injustices and creating a fair and equitable criminal legal system.”
Although the DEA didn’t call for full legalization of cannabis, Gersten said activists “must use this historic moment to push the fight for cannabis justice forward and we intend to do so by leveraging this reclassification for broader criminal legal reforms as outlined here.”
Audrey Roy of the High 90′s vape brand, said the DEA rule opens the door to
operate more freely, access important resources like loans and insurance, and have secure banking options.”
She added: “It’s revolutionary for the cannabis market and will allow us to flourish just like any other small business.”
Reid Stewart, CEO of Frozen Fields, a vape and gummy maker, admits rescheduling may seem like progress, but warns of potential issues that could affect smaller cannabis companies.
“The unique thing about state-regulated cannabis to this stage is the largest operations didn’t have much scale advantage as state borders stopped this,” Stewart told HuffPost. “I fear that rescheduling would see the corporatization of cannabis before the free market even gets a chance.”
Rodney Carter Jr., co-founder and CEO of Trends Dispensary in New York, admits the news is bittersweet because while “it allows for safer banking which is very much needed, it also allows big corporations and big pharma to swoop in making it nearly impossible for the newly licensed or little guys to stand a chance and compete.”
He added: “When you can buy cannabis at Walmart and CVS, where does that leave us?”