As the U.S. is poised to reclassify cannabis at the federal level, owners of cannabis businesses and those with past criminal convictions are among many impacted by the change.
"I felt extremely excited about it," cannabis company owner Reese Xavier told NBC Chicago.
Xavier is excited about the government's new stance on cannabis, which would reclassify the drug from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, alongside heroin and MDMA, to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and Tylenol with codeine.
"This rescheduling will hopefully reduce the number of criminal convictions as a result of cannabis," Xavier said.
As owner of HT23 Growers, Xavier said he knows many people who have been criminally charged for cannabis offenses due to the Schedule I classification.
"It's not fair," he said. "It's never fair for a plant like cannabis to be criminalized and to have to go through all the things and quite frankly still going through it."
For Kevin Sabet of the nonprofit Smart Approaches to Marijuana, the move "reeks of election-year politics."
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"I really think that's what this is about. It's about trying to get young voters and I think it's a desperate attempt at doing so," Sabet said.
Sabet, who founded the nonprofit, said he wasn't surprised by the change in classification. He added that while he doesn't support the move, he's also not in support of criminalization of cannabis.
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"We don't want to see people go to prison or criminalize individuals, but we also don't want to see marijuana widely commercialized," Sabet said.
From a business standpoint, the new Schedule III classification means better access to capital for medicinal and recreational cannabis companies like Chicago-based Cresco Labs.
"This will allow us to keep more of the revenue we have and pay regular taxes," Cresco Labs founder Charlie Bachtell said.
"Most people don't know, but as a Schedule I substance, we're not allowed to take business deductions," Bachtell said.
As for Xavier, he hopes this move is part of what will eventually lead to cannabis being removed from the Controlled Substances Act.
"I certainly hope at some point we get to that point where it's de-scheduled altogether," Xavier said. "I am confident we will get there. This is a huge first step, but we certainly have a long way to go."
The proposed change still has to go through a public comment period and would not become official for at least 60 days. The move may also still face a challenge from Congress.
