WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The Trump administration Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have announced that they are moving forward with reclassification of medical marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug, a precursor to significantly relaxing federal restrictions on all forms of marijuana.

Implementing an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in December, the rescheduling “immediately” applies to both “FDA-approved products containing marijuana” and “marijuana products regulated by a state medical marijuana license,” according to aDOJ press release, covering versions of the drug ostensibly dispensed for medical purposes. However, it is also expediting a hearing to begin June 29 for evaluating “broader changes to marijuana’s status under federal law.”

Schedule I placed medical marijuana alongside narcotics such as heroin, whereas the far milder Schedule III puts it alongside legal, largely-unregulated medications that can be misused, such as Tylenol, drugs deemed to have “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”

USA Todaynotesthat the order establishes an “expedited registration” process for licensed medical marijuana companies that want to “engage in the manufacture, distribution, and/or dispensing of marijuana for medical purposes under federal law,” along with tax benefits.

“The Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s promise to expand Americans’ access to medical treatment options,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This rescheduling action allows for research on the safety and efficacy of this substance, ultimately providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information.”

“Under the direction of President Trump and Acting Attorney General Blanche, DEA is expeditiously moving forward with the administrative hearing process — bringing consistency and oversight to an area that has lacked both,” added DEA Administrator Terry Cole. “Our men and women in law enforcement remain committed to fighting drug cartels, the fentanyl epidemic, and protecting American lives.”

But many say the move is not only unnecessary for the advancement of legitimate medicine but will ultimately be harmful in its broader ramifications for marijuana policy.

Last August, more than 50 organizations, including CatholicVote, Family Research Council, the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, the Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, and Eagle Forum,signed an open letterto the president saying that marijuana itself “has not been approved for any medical use by the FDA” and “likely never will” for the simple reason that “No smokeable (combustible) substance would ever receive approval by the FDA, for example, because of its inherent carcinogenic harm.”

In January, a study published in theCochrane Database of Systematic Reviewsfound“no clear evidence that cannabis-based medicines provide pain relief for chronic neuropathic pain” after reviewing “21 clinical trials involving more than 2,100 adults, comparing cannabis-based medicines with placebo over periods of two to 26 weeks.”

Further, there is a substantial body of evidence showing that marijuana use carries significant risks, both to the user and to those around him, despite libertarian arguments that the issue is a “victimless crime” and a matter of personal liberty.

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