In the rush to modernize federal drug policy, federal regulators are on the verge of making a decision that will reverberate through American families for generations.
Reports indicate that President Donald Trump is considering reclassifying the federal status of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, a much less dangerous class of drugs. Doing so would endanger our youth, misrepresent the current science, and prioritize the bottom line of a commercial industry over the health of Americans.
Moreover, rescheduling sends the wrong message at the wrong time, especially to children.
TRUMP’S WELCOME MARIJUANA CRACKDOWN
The marijuana of the past effectively no longer exists. It has been replaced by a highly commercialized market dominated by ultrapotent products, from highly concentrated vapes to shatter and wax. A move to Schedule III would apply a blanket classification to marijuana at any potency and any amount, disregarding the scientific data on the extreme (and damaging) differences between the marijuana of more than 30 years ago and what exists today.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule III is reserved for drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence and a currently accepted medical use. To categorize today’s high-potency THC products this way is to imply a safety profile that the science and the scores of cases of cannabis-related disorders simply do not support. Evidence of the risks these products pose to the developing brain continues to grow, and even in states where labelling and packaging standards exist, there are still too many cases of poisonings, accidental ingestions, and negative effects.
Rescheduling marijuana would only make this more prevalent and indicate to the public (but especially to our youth) that marijuana is much safer than it is. The medicinal status is much more decided scientifically than it truly is.
The federal government should not allow itself to be pressured to put the cart before the horse by the profit-hungry marijuana industry. The United States is not prepared to reclassify marijuana nationally when we have yet to fully reckon with the consequences of expanded availability and unprecedented potency.
Even states such as Colorado and Washington, which legalized marijuana more than a decade ago, are still struggling to manage the public health and youth-safety fallout. If the most experienced states are still course-correcting, it is unrealistic to expect better outcomes from a sweeping federal move.
Rescheduling marijuana would effectively turn our children’s health and public safety into a high-stakes national experiment — one already underway in real time. Rather than pausing to analyze mounting data on youth addiction, mental health harms, and high-potency products, federal leaders are being urged to press the accelerator.
We have already seen how premature federal action can go wrong. The 2018 Farm Bill was intended to legalize nonintoxicating hemp. Yet, vague definitions were exploited by companies intent on flooding the market with highly intoxicating THC products sold as “hemp,” often in candy-like forms, with little oversight and devastating consequences for children and families.
These unexpected and devastating developments should serve as a warning, not a blueprint.
Rescheduling marijuana without establishing clear, enforceable safeguards tied to product potency, dosage, marketing, education, and youth access would repeat this error on a far larger scale. It would signal federal approval for products that have never been evaluated for safety, efficacy, or long-term impact, especially the ultrapotent forms dominating the market.
Our children’s lives should not become collateral damage in a policy experiment that lacks sufficient scientific grounding and carries a high risk of preventable harm.
TRUMP’S HEMP BAN IS A HUGE VICTORY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
This moment calls for restraint. The responsible path forward should not be driven by profit or politics, but by science, humility, and accountability. Until marijuana policy is grounded in clear product standards and fundamental public-health safeguards, our national and state leaders must prioritize public safety and protecting children ahead of corporate favor and greed.
Our nation’s children only get one chance to grow up — let’s make it count.
Diane Carlson is co-founder and national policy director for One Chance to Grow Up, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children from today’s marijuana.
