GREENSBORO, N.C. — Right now the government needs your opinion about marijuana. This week under the guidance of President Joe Biden, the Drug Enforcement Agency officially proposed reclassifying pot as a less dangerous drug from a schedule one to a schedule 3. That would move it from being in a category with heroin and LSD down to one with steroids and Tylenol with codeine. Marijuana would still be illegal, but the penalties would be less.
In North Carolina, a first-time possession conviction would go from a sentence of up to five months behind bars to 45 days.
Before this change can happen though, the government wants to know your thoughts. You have until June 20 to submit your opinion online.
While you think about what to say, The Good Morning Show's Ben Briscoe asked White House staff why this move was being considered right now as the biggest change to marijuana policy in more than 50 years.
“The approach of changing the schedule into Schedule 3 as opposed to 1 is to recognize the medical uses of the substance because the Schedule 1 category has no recognized medical uses and high addictive potential,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy with the White House. “This is important, but it's also important as President Biden has repeatedly indicated that far too many people have been arrested, prosecuted, and incarcerated as a result of that. While all populations use marijuana at similar rates, black and brown populations have been disproportionately incarcerated, and that inequity is so critical that we must right the wrongs that historically have happened for over half a century across our country.”
Briscoe then asked Gupta, “What do you say to people who are worried that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to harder drug use?”
“Let's be clear, any drug that is used by children up to the age of about 22 or 25 is not recommended because our brains are still developing,” Gutpa said. “That includes marijuana. So that's why it's important to continue to double down on our prevention efforts when it comes to marijuana and children. At the same time, same goes for pregnant moms. And simultaneously, we've got to make sure that people who need their assistance and we follow the science are getting that assistance when it comes to the therapeutic uses of cannabis at the same time.”
President Biden’s opponent in the election, former President Donald Trump hasn’t weighed in on whether marijuana should be reclassified, but he suggested in the past the states should decide if it’s legal or not.