U.S.A. DEA will reclassify marijuana.

[Mark]

How’s this for a feel-good story?

US poised to ease restrictions on marijuana in historic shift, but it'll remain controlled substance

In a historic shift, the U.S. moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, AP sources say.

apnews.com

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

Do your think in honor of this

 

[Mark]

Do your think in honor of this

I anticipate a lot of apprehensive people finally getting the nod of approval for something that has been helping a lot of people with a lot of different things for a long time.

Despite growing legalization, there are still a lot of people who don’t have access to it due to federal restrictions. Reclassifying it to a Schedule III instead of Schedule I takes it away from being lumped in with fentanyl, heroin, LSD, crack, etc. Simply put, it would make it easier for someone like a cop to go home and smoke a joint (instead of beat his wife) to relieve the stresses of the day.

 

[ColoradoAvalancheFanMatt]

Kinda hate this baby step stuff.

Almost half the states have it legalized fully and only 7 have it completely illegal. The rest have it legal in some form. All that keeping it scheduled does is keep it a stupid headache for multiple reasons. Just make it federally legal.

 

[Mark]

Kinda hate this baby step stuff.

Almost half the states have it legalized fully and only 7 have it completely illegal. The rest have it legal in some form. All that keeping it scheduled does is keep it a stupid headache for multiple reasons. Just make it federally legal.

I agree completely, especially when we live in a country where we have a pill for depression that can cause suicidal ideation that’s perfectly legally, advertised regularly, with countless people negatively affected.

It’ll never make sense to me.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

One of the funniest things I can remember for an interaction with weed was this:

A group of interns were hired, and we were taking them out to a bar after work. One of them said "oh I can't, but have this as an apology" and gave us all a bit of weed literally at the front door to the office. Like just loose bud he had on him.


Why yes he had long hair and a full beard. Why do you ask?

 

[Mark]

One of the funniest things I can remember for an interaction with weed was this:

A group of interns were hired, and we were taking them out to a bar after work. One of them said "oh I can't, but have this as an apology" and gave us all a bit of weed literally at the front door to the office. Like just loose bud he had on him.


Why yes he had long hair and a full beard. Why do you ask?

Sounds like a decent intern to me. I’ve known a lot of potheads like that, though. It’s no different than walking into someone’s house and being offered a beer, but at least you KNOW weed is gluten free.

 

[Ben]

If I could bill my weed to my medical insurance, I'd hit my yearly deductible in a month.

 

[Mark]

If I could bill my weed to my medical insurance, I'd hit my yearly deductible in a month.

Nooo, because then the insurance is gonna tier off the weed on us. Gonna have to pay a premium for premium.

 

[Ben]

Nooo, because then the insurance is gonna tier off the weed on us. Gonna have to pay a premium for premium.

Fuck, man. Way to ruin my dream of picking up nugs at CVS.

You're probably spot on though, even if they did cover it with insurance in some way, it'd either be trash weed or super hard to find.

 

[Mark]

Fuck, man. Way to ruin my dream of picking up nugs at CVS.

You're probably spot on though, even if they did cover it with insurance in some way, it'd either be trash weed or super hard to find.

“I’m sorry, but your Lilac Dream is currently out of stock, and you’re not due for a refill on your Super Silver Haze until the 31st.”

 

[Fool's Requiem]

When do we start legally importing from Jamaca so they can finally have an economic boom?

 

[Tommy Boy]

When do we start legally importing from Jamaca so they can finally have an economic boom?

As long as the US Gov is in charge, never lol. The only reason most of this even became legal was for the financial implications behind the taxation of it being sold. States are really bad at figuring out how to handle this.

 

[Mark]

As long as the US Gov is in charge, never lol. The only reason most of this even became legal was for the financial implications behind the taxation of it being sold. States are really bad at figuring out how to handle this.

Exactly. Even states still restricting medical access are likely neighboring recreational states at this point, and every dispensary I’ve ever been to has accepted out of state ID. I can’t go to the dispensary near me without encountering more WV and PA plates than MD ones.

 

[Kat]

Kinda hate this baby step stuff.

Almost half the states have it legalized fully and only 7 have it completely illegal. The rest have it legal in some form. All that keeping it scheduled does is keep it a stupid headache for multiple reasons. Just make it federally legal.

I agree, but intermediate wins are still wins. This is essentially legalized medical nationwide, which is still huge. I heard it'll also mean dispensaries will be able to use banks, which should drive down prices and reduce safety issues due to all the cash they currently have to keep on hand (though I'm not sure if that'd be all of them or only medical ones).

But yes, agreed, legalize it already. It has the support. Just do it.

 

[ColoradoAvalancheFanMatt]

I agree, but intermediate wins are still wins. This is essentially legalized medical nationwide, which is still huge. I heard it'll also mean dispensaries will be able to use banks, which should drive down prices and reduce safety issues due to all the cash they currently have to keep on hand (though I'm not sure if that'd be all of them or only medical ones).

But yes, agreed, legalize it already. It has the support. Just do it.

I didn’t even know about the bank part of it. It’s gotta be dangerous keeping all the cash on hand, and how are taxes tracked? This is why I feel just going full legal would be best. They can hammer out the fine details and something can be done with the increased amount of taxes for the military industrial complex people programs

 

[Kat]

I didn’t even know about the bank part of it. It’s gotta be dangerous keeping all the cash on hand

It is! Dispensaries are frequently robbed at gunpoint in my general area. It affects the hours they're open, how many people are on staff at a time, security restrictions for customers, and of course people are sometimes killed and often traumatized.

, and how are taxes tracked?

They do track sales and pay taxes currently, however they are not allowed to deduct expenses from their income (because federally it's a criminal enterprise), so they pay a massive tax rate. Hopefully this will fix that too!

This is why I feel just going full legal would be best.

Of course it would be best. At least this is a step in the right direction, though. It'll get there.

 

[Kat]

Some speculation about how this move will affect the availability of banking services for the cannabis industry: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory...n-leaves-problem-cannabis-companies-109815550

 

[Mark]

Some speculation about how this move will affect the availability of banking services for the cannabis industry: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory...n-leaves-problem-cannabis-companies-109815550

Unfortunately, I think they’re right. Until we see it treated no differently than alcohol or tobacco, I don’t think we will see any financial institutions get involved. I think what we will likely see, though, will be effectively credit unions in the meantime as a way to circumvent the current regulations. It’ll be just like the cashless ATM’s they utilize in dispensaries to work around their inability to charge a customer’s bank directly for a product.