On Thursday, Congressman Greg Steube, who represents Florida’s 17th district, introduced a bill that would downgrade the controlled substance scheduling for marijuana. Steube’s bill, the Marijuana 1-to-3 Act of 2019, would reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III controlled substance. Currently, the federal government considers cannabis a Schedule I drug with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Downgrading cannabis to Schedule III, a classification which includes drugs like ketamine and anabolic steroids, would primarily make it easier for scientists to research cannabis and its health effects.
Marijuana 1-to-3 Act Would Allow for Federally-Funded Cannabis Research
On September 12, Congressman Greg Steube tweeted a press release announcing a bill to downgrade marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance. “The Marijuana 1-to-3 Act will allow additional research to be done on the benefits of marijuana by removing bureaucratic red tape,” Steube wrote in the tweet.
According to Steube’s press release, the bill directs the Attorney General of the United States to make a simple change to the Controlled Substances Act: dropping “marihuana” down to Schedule III. In the release, Steube acknowledges there are clearly medical benefits to cannabis. “We hear every day about the positive health benefits of marijuana,” Steube said. “Whether it’s young children with seizure disorders, or veterans suffering from chronic pain.”
Federal research into the health effects of cannabis has been extremely restricted due to its Schedule I status. A Schedule III designation would remove many of those barriers, including one of the most substantial: funding. As a Schedule III substance, federal funds would be available to support research projects on cannabis and its medical and therapeutic applications.