Pubdate: Thu, 11 Aug 2016
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Column: The 420
Copyright: 2016 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Ngaio Bealum

OVERSCHEDULED

Wasn't the DEA supposed to have released its decision on rescheduling 
cannabis by now?

- -John E. Law

Of course it was, and of course it hasn't. Word was that the Drug 
Enforcement Administration was in talks to bump cannabis to Schedule 
2 within the first half of 2016. Do you know how hard it is for 
government agencies to admit they've made a mistake? Currently, 
marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it supposedly 
has no medicinal value and has a high risk for abuse. You know, like 
other Schedule I drugs such as heroin or LSD.

If they decide to reschedule cannabis, what would they say to the 
thousands of people that have had their lives destroyed by the DEA's 
overzealous pursuit of people that like weed? This is the same DEA 
that could have removed cannabis from Schedule 1 in 1988, but chose 
to reject the findings of its own judge when he stated, "Marijuana, 
in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active 
substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis 
marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical 
care." (There's more juicy stuff in this opinion. Read it here: 
www.ccguide.org/young88.php.)

All that aside, the DEA is taking its sweet time. DEA spokesman Russ 
Baer recently told a reporter for TheCannabist.co: "I can't give you 
a time frame as to when we may announce a decision. We're closer than 
we were a month ago. It's a very deliberate process."

Here's the deal: It's not hard to do, but think about all the things 
the DEA and the feds would have to deal with if cannabis was 
descheduled. The DEA wouldn't just be giving up the millions of 
dollars of its budget that it wastes each year going after pot users: 
They would have to drop a bunch of cases, give back a bunch of seized 
assets, deal with prisoners petitioning for release and more. It's a 
big deal. It is hard for people, especially bureaucrats, to willingly 
relinquish that type of power.

By the way, if you think the feds only go after big-time outlaw 
cannabis growers, I refer you to the case of Devontre Thomas, a 
19-year-old native American kid from Oregon who faced a year in jail 
and loss of any potential federal subsidies, such as student loans, 
for being caught with less than one gram (Less than one gram. Maybe 
enough for a decent sized joint!) of cannabis on federal property. It 
took a U.S. Congressman and a giant outcry by the public to get the 
feds to drop the charges. The war on drugs is a sham and the war on 
pot users is a travesty and a mockery. It's time for it to end. I 
still hold out hope that President Barack Obama will use his 
executive powers to deschedule cannabis right before he leaves 
office, but I am not placing any bets.

Any cool pot-themed events on the horizon?

- -Hitch Aiker

Yup. The 25th anniversary of the Seattle Hempfest is happening August 
19-21. This is the biggest "protestival" in the world. I will be 
there. Come say high. Get more info at www.hempfest.org.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom