SAN DIEGO — The federal government is getting closer to reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, bringing big changes to rules surrounding cannabis.
"Today is a big day in the history of the united states and history of cannabis," said Jackie Bryant, content strategist at San Diego Magazine and cannabis lifestyle reporter.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is moving to reclassify marijuana from being a Schedule I drug, the same as heroin and LSD, to a Schedule III alongside Tylenol containing codeine, ketamine and testosterone.
"This has never happened before," she said. "The federal government until recently has never admitted cannabis has any medical value, any value whatsoever."
Bryant notes reclassification wouldn't legalize recreational cannabis on the federal level. Marijuana would remain a controlled substance but could become easier to study.
"There's a lot of federal research that can be opened up which I think is the most important thing. We have this recent news of TBI and Alzheimer's and how cannabis can help," Bryant said.
Consumers in states where it's already legal might not notice a huge change.
"What it means for the general public is probably not much," she said. "It does probably mean pharmaceutical companies can harness THC and use that compound in pharmaceutical drugs which has never been done before."
Next the White House Office of Management and Budget must review the proposal to reclassify.
"It's a step in the right direction. Having the federal government, president and DEA say this isn't as bad as we said it is, is a huge deal. But this still doesn't go far enough and it's not legal," Bryant said. "There's still a far way to go."
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