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MARIJUANA MOMENT
ONE-THIRD OF MARIJUANA CONSUMERS WOULD RETURN TO ILLICIT MARKET IF RESCHEDULING
RESTRICTS ACCESS TO PHARMACIES, NEW POLL FINDS
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POLITICS
ONE-THIRD OF MARIJUANA CONSUMERS WOULD RETURN TO ILLICIT MARKET IF RESCHEDULING
RESTRICTS ACCESS TO PHARMACIES, NEW POLL FINDS
Published
1 day ago
on
January 24, 2024
By
Kyle Jaeger
About one-third of marijuana consumers say they would go back to the illicit
market if cannabis was rescheduled and only made legally available as a Food and
Drug Administration- (FDA) approved prescription drug, according to a new poll.
As federal agencies work to complete an administrative review into cannabis
scheduling, the survey from Nugg MD shows wariness about how the government
could hypothetically become involved with marijuana in the event of a
reclassification.
Of course, even though the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
has recommended moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the
Controlled Substances Act (CSA), that would not make it a legal prescription
drug. The FDA drug approval process is separate, and the agency typically does
not approve botanicals as prescription medications.
Guns And Weed: South Dakota House Passes Bill Forcing Cannabis Shops To Warn
Customers Of Fed Firearms Ban
Guns And Weed: South Dakota House Passes Bill Forcing Cannabis Shops To Warn
Customers Of Fed Firearms Ban
The bills says dispensaries must include notices about federal law prohibiting
gun possession by marijuana users. Fed federal courts have argued that marijuana
consumers possessing firearms represent a societal threat.
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State Governors Urge Biden to Reschedule Marijuana by Year-End for Economic and
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Many industry observers also believe that the federal government would continue
its approach of generally allowing state cannabis markets to operate without
interference following rescheduling, though some advocates and consumers have
concerns that the change could disrupt state-licensed businesses by allowing a
pharmaceutical takeover of the marijuana industry—and the Nugg MD survey
underscores that point.
Asked what they would do if their “only option to purchase cannabis legally was
to buy it at a pharmacy with a prescription,” a majority (55 percent) said they
would visit the pharmacy, but 32 percent said they would instead risk being
criminalized by buying from the illicit market. Six percent said they wouldn’t
use cannabis at all in that situation, and seven percent said they’d do
something else.
Deb Tharp, head of legal and policy research at NuggMD.com, argued that the poll
results show that “consumers are likely to lose out under rescheduling unless
Congress steps up and passes legislation to preserve existing state markets.”
“According to government estimates, more than 35 million Americans use cannabis
on a monthly basis,” she told Marijuana Moment. “Pushing more than 10 million
people into the unregulated market for cannabis strikes me as a very bad outcome
because black market cannabis is not safe. I don’t think the severity of this
situation is entirely clear to policymakers.”
The survey also asked more generally about consumer preferences, with 77 percent
saying they’d rather use “traditional botanical products,” compared to 18
percent who chose “FDA-approved” cannabis.
In general, just under half of respondents (47 percent) said that a decision to
move marijuana to Schedule III wouldn’t affect their level of access. Another 28
percent said they believe it would make access harder, and 25 percent said it
would get easier.
Overall, 85 percent of poll participants said they would rather the federal
government deschedule (i.e. legalize) marijuana, instead of simply moving it to
Schedule III. Another 83 percent said they expect racial disparities in cannabis
criminalization enforcement would persist under a Schedule III reclassification,
while 17 percent said they trust the law would be enforced impartially.
Survey respondents also said that they would prefer a marijuana industry that
continues to operate in many different state markets (69 percent), rather than
have “one big, national market” (27 percent).
“Consumers simply do not want FDA or pharmaceutical companies meddling with
their cannabis,” Tharp of Nugg MD said. “They prefer state-run cannabis markets.
They have moderate to high levels of trust in state controls. And many of them
will obtain the cannabis they want, even if it means not abiding by the law.
When it comes to supply, cannabis consumers have a rich history of just figuring
it out.”
“The message this poll sends to policymakers is clear: If you’re not willing to
walk into a regulated dispensary and start talking to consumers, at least be
aware of what they’re saying to the folks who are talking to them. Congress
needs to preserve existing state cannabis markets, and it needs to create a way
for honest, regulated cannabis retailers to sell the products that consumers
want without being hamstrung by FDA compliance.
Policymakers have used cannabis for more than a century to weaponize the law
against people. They clearly know how to hold this industry down, so they must
know how to prop it up.”
While observers disagree about the potential broad implications of moving
cannabis to Schedule III, there is a consensus that it would at least exempt the
marijuana industry from the 280E tax provision that prevents operators from
writing off business expenses since it only applies to sellers of Schedule I and
II drugs. The new poll found that 70 percent of respondents said they trust
cannabis businesses to “pass on to consumers any tax savings brought about by
new regulations.”
The survey from Nugg MD—a cannabis technology company that links people to
doctors via telemedicine for medical cannabis recommendation—involved interviews
with 795 cannabis consumers from December 11-18.
Meanwhile, another poll released last week found that President Joe Biden stands
to make significant political gains if marijuana is rescheduled under his
administrative directive.
Of course, Biden doesn’t directly control the final outcome. HHS recommended the
rescheduling action upon completion of a scientific review last year, but the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reserves “final authority” in the matter.
Congressional researchers also recently laid out the limitations of rescheduling
in a report—emphasizing that state cannabis markets would continue to run afoul
of federal law, and existing criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related
activity would remain in force.
Biden has routinely touted his 2022 scheduling directive, as well as a mass
pardon he granted for people who’ve committed federal marijuana possession
offenses. He followed up on that action last month with a renewed and expanded
pardon proclamation.
> State Marijuana Regulators Discuss Social Equity Efforts At National Academies
> Meeting
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Related Topics:featured
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Kyle Jaeger
Kyle Jaeger is Marijuana Moment's Sacramento-based managing editor. His work has
also appeared in High Times, VICE and attn.
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