The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Biden administration will reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act.
Attorney General Merrick Garland will reclassify it from Schedule I, the schedule used for drugs that cannot be prescribed for any medical purpose, to Schedule III, under which it could be prescribed by a physician.
There will be an immediate hubbub over what this rescheduling decision means, for purposes of both drug policy and the November presidential election.
Does rescheduling cannabis legalize its sale across the U.S.?
No, it does not, for two reasons. First, unlike the drugs listed in Schedule I, drugs placed in Schedule III are not contraband. A physician may prescribe the latter.
But your neighborhood “budtender,” whose only training and experience in medicine comes from watching “House, M.D.” or “E.R.,” isn’t…
