After more than 50 years, federal hostility towards marijuana might be changing. Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1971, botanical cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, is classified as a Schedule I substance, which the Drug Enforcement Administration defines as a drug “with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Other substances under the Schedule I classification are heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

However, on Jan. 12, the Food and Drug Administration published a scientific and medical review that concluded that marijuana meets the criteria for reclassification as a lower-scheduled drug. Such a change could significantly impact how cannabis is used in medical fields along with sociological injustices that exist because of its current status — and USC’s recreational users and professors from a variety of fields are excited about the updated data.

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The FDA’s investigation came in response to a statement from President Joe Biden on Oct. 6, 2022, requesting for the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the attorney general to “review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” 

In the 252-page document, Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine considered eight factors relating to the drug’s scheduling, including marijuana’s potential for abuse, risk to public health and dependence liability. In the report, Levine recommended that marijuana be reclassified as a Schedule III substance under the CSA. Schedule III drugs have a lower potential for abuse than those in Schedule I and II; additionally, Schedule III drugs also have an accepted medical purpose, and a moderate to low risk of users developing physical dependence.

Dr. Kari Franson, a professor of clinical pharmacy, said new data frequently allows scientists and doctors to reconsider certain practices, including substance classification. However, cannabis has historically been poorly studied, Franson said, with scientists often using inconsistent research methods that yield ambiguous results.

“Part of the problem with cannabis has been just all that diversity in products as well as the fact that — particularly when you ingest it through the [gastrointestinal] tract — we just don’t have consistent absorption, makes it kind of a hard drug to study,” Franson said. 

An important factor in the FDA’s recommendation for reclassification was its finding on marijuana’s medical benefits regarding physical pain, PTSD, anorexia, and nausea and vomiting. 

Eva Kaleigh Stokes Hernandez, a senior majoring in psychology and the president of Cannabis at USC, said she appreciates marijuana’s capacity to mitigate medical issues and, in comparison to painkillers like hydrocodone — also known as Vicodin — she finds it more natural and feels more cognizant of its effects.

The FDA report focuses solely on tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana. Cannabis also contains cannabidiol, a non-impairing compound, meaning it does not produce a high.

Franson said THC products have proven useful for treating anxiety and nausea, as well as yielding changes in movement, stability and memory formation. Cannabis is less effective than ibuprofen or morphine for acute pain, but for chronic pain, specifically when caused by neurological damage, the substance performs better.

However, Franson also said she’s concerned about the drug’s use to treat mental illnesses.

“Although there’s been some short-term studies, there’s also been some long-term studies that show some negative outcomes,” Franson said. “So, in my mind, I was kind of surprised that PTSD was on the list.”

Stokes Hernandez said marijuana’s current Schedule I classification creates an inaccurate stigma around its medicinal use, and that it makes sense that the government would reconsider such a status.

“I just feel like it was a long time coming to have this very prestigious and revered, respected source of medical information like the FDA to say, basically, ‘We’ve been looking at this wrong and there’s a lot more to this drug than just being a drug,’” Stokes Hernandez said. “It’s a plant in my eyes.”

Dr. Brittany Friedman, an associate professor of sociology, said the stigma around marijuana usage exists largely due to over a century of government-funded propaganda, but moving it to Schedule III may change the way individuals understand it.

“It’s been ingrained that marijuana can make you lose your mind, you can become addicted, it’s a gateway drug, all of these catchphrases,” Friedman said. “Much of the normalization [of alcohol] comes around its commercial use. It’s incredibly profitable. I think the true reason why we actually see a push for reform is because states are realizing that marijuana is incredibly profitable, and it’s not as harmful.”

Despite this, half of the U.S. population lives in a state where recreational marijuana is legalized, and 70% of U.S. adults approve of its federal legalization.

Friedman said she hopes the reclassification will help lawmakers move in the direction of legalization. 

“I think, culturally, many people across America from a variety of demographic backgrounds support legalizing marijuana,” Friedman said. “Lawmakers just need to listen to their constituents.”

Friedman said the scheduling of drugs under the CSA has significant implications for how the government can enforce their usage, including surveillance and confinement in jail or prison, allowing them to mass incarcerate certain marginalized communities. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, despite the fact that cannabis use is nearly equal among Black and white populations, Black individuals are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for possession.

“Marijuana being classified as a Schedule I drug … has allowed the government to use different control mechanisms … to prevent people that actually have medical needs for marijuana [from having] access, but then also to criminalize whole populations and disappear them into our prison system and our jail systems for using a substance that has a long history of research proving that it should not be a Schedule I drug,” Friedman said.

Legalizing marijuana use and possession at the federal level would undoubtedly lead to a decrease in arrests, but Friedman hopes they will not be replaced with fines or fees as punishment, which she said would lead to further racial and socioeconomic disparities.

Although the call for reclassification is a step in the right direction, Franson believes there is much work to be done to identify marijuana’s risks and benefits before it can be implemented in a medical context.

“There’s a risk to eating too many carrots, but the question is, what’s the benefit? What is that dose? How many carrots are too many? How much cannabis is too much? Who’s more at risk of turning orange from your carrots? Who’s more at risk of having a psychological problem from using cannabis?” Franson said.

Stokes Hernandez said she recognizes the potential backlash such a policy change could have, but hopes the potential reclassification will allow for a change in how people perceive cannabis use. 

“The first thing people are gonna think who are resistant to weed is, ‘Okay, well, does this mean that there’s going to be a dispensary on every corner and that my kids are going to have huge access to this?’” Stokes Hernandez said. “I really want more research and more just basic elementary education, and I want people to be exposed to it and really get rid of the fear.”