(TND) — Veterans' groups are applauding news that the federal government might reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
AMVETS National Executive Director Joe Chenelly said Wednesday that such a move would be an “important step forward.”
And Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America CEO Allison Jaslow said greater access to cannabis could be a “game-changer” for veterans’ health care.
The Drug Enforcement Administration will reportedly move to reclassify marijuana, or cannabis, as a Schedule III substance.
Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
The DEA says Schedule I drugs have no currently accepted medical uses and a high potential for abuse.
If cannabis is reclassified as a lower Schedule III drug, the veterans’ organizations are hopeful it will open the doors for more mainstream use of that alternative therapy.
“This is the DEA acknowledging that cannabis isn't as harmful as other drugs, acknowledging that there are medical benefits to it,” Jaslow said. “And this is something that our IAVA veterans have been asking for for a long time.”
Other Schedule III drugs include Tylenol with codeine and testosterone.
The DEA says Schedule III drugs are seen as having a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.
Schedule III drugs are still regulated, controlled substances, The Associated Press reported.
There are still several steps that need to occur before marijuana can be reclassified. The White House Office of Management and Budget has to sign off on the proposal, which would then go to a public comment period, the AP reported.
The government isn’t saying much about the process at this point.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that President Joe Biden had asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice to look into reclassifying marijuana last year.
“That process continues,” she said. “DOJ is looking into that. I just want to be really mindful there. They're moving with that process. Don't have anything more to say, and so we'll just leave it there.”
Most Americans these days are in favor of some type of marijuana legalization, according to the Pew Research Center.
Over half, 57%, told the Pew Research Center that marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational purposes. Around a third of people said marijuana should be legal for only medical use.
Just 11% of people wanted to keep marijuana fully illegal.
And the Pew Research Center has found that over half of Americans now live in a state with legal recreational use of marijuana.
Nearly 80% of Americans live in a county with at least one cannabis dispensary.
Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2012.
Now, 24 states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use of marijuana.
Another 14 states allow only medical use.
Chenelly said there’s “overwhelming” support from AMVETS membership for cannabis as a treatment option for veterans.
And Jaslow said their most recent survey showed 71% of IAVA members supported legalizing cannabis to ensure that fellow veterans can get access to that type of care.
“I think what's different, especially for our generation of veterans, is we grew up with the opioid crisis going on all around in the country,” Jaslow said. “And so, I think there's just a healthy skepticism around pharma from our generation, specifically.”
She said she’s heard from plenty of veterans who found that cannabis helped them deal with the physical or psychological wounds of war.
Chenelly said reclassifying marijuana could bring the treatment “out of the shadows” for some veterans.
“A lot of veterans will be dishonest with their doctors, and that's never healthy, because they're fearful that they're going to lose their benefits,” Chenelly said of veterans who have taken it upon themselves to use medicinal cannabis. “And so hopefully this will remove that stigma.”
Veterans Affairs doctors can’t even tell their patients that medicinal cannabis is an option, let alone prescribe it, Jaslow said.
She and Chenelly hope this move could result in cannabis being allowed in treatment discussions between VA doctors and veterans.
The next step is getting the VA to pay for it, they said.
“We see value in it, and we want the VA to be able to support that,” Chenelly said.
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