Cannabis Industry Fired Up About Possible DEA Reclassification

Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that it is moving toward removing marijuana from its list of Schedule I drugs definitely got people in the pot business fired up.

“Well… they got that right!!” actor and cannabis grower Jim Belushi told HuffPost. “Wise up! Keep moving in the right direction! Now, let’s release the cannabis prisoners from prison.”

Still, indica insiders note it’s only a first step.

Lou Police, CEO of Hi Seltzer, a cannabis beverage brand, told HuffPost that he loves the progress being made by the federal government in this space, but stressed that people in the bud biz “don’t want to see this rescheduling or any new federal regulations harm the existing market for both hemp and cannabis products nationwide.”

Until now, cannabis has been considered a Schedule I drug, a term for drugs with a high potential for abuse as well as severe psychological and/or physical dependence.

The DEA now plans to move pot to Schedule III, which is for drugs with only a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.

Milan Patel, the CEO and co-founder of PathogenDX, a cannabis testing company, said the move should “trigger federal regulatory agencies into applying national standards to cannabis testing, as opposed to the kaleidoscope of regulations we have been dealing with across more than 30 states.”

Doing this, he told HuffPost, “will allow good manufacturing practices to come into play throughout the whole supply chain and be taken seriously, ensuring the health and safety of patients and consumers, and setting the industry on a path for longevity and success.”

Cannabis publicist Alice Moon is excited about the move for both personal and professional reasons.

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