U.S. President Donald Trump is reviewing the easing of regulations on marijuana, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 8th (local time). Marijuana is a drug made from the dried flowers and leaves of the cannabis plant, smoked like tobacco. Outside of its use as fabric and paper, cultivation is banned.
The U.S. government has classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug since the 1970s. It is considered dangerous, addictive, and medically useless. President Trump is now reviewing the possibility of downgrading marijuana to a Schedule III drug.
The purpose of the regulatory easing is to develop it for medical use. Previously, President Trump stated on social media that he would investigate the benefits of reducing the classification of marijuana to Schedule III for medical purposes. The previous Joe Biden administration also attempted to lower marijuana to a Schedule III drug last year for the same reasons but faced public opposition.
Marijuana contains the compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes hallucinations and addiction. However, cannabis also contains cannabidiol (CBD), which has therapeutic effects and is being developed as a treatment. Extracting CBD from cannabis and purifying the THC compound to less than 0.3% can help with epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and depression.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex, a cannabis CBD product, as a treatment for childhood epilepsy in 2018. Supplements and cosmetics with the same ingredients have also been developed. U.S. media speculate that President Trump has met with corporations to assist in the development of cannabis-based treatments.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump met with marijuana industry representatives at a fundraiser held earlier this month at his golf club in New Jersey. Corporations are said to have raised millions of dollars for Trump and hired lobbyists.
To research a Schedule I drug, corporations must register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and obtain approval from federal or state governments. The Wall Street Journal noted, "Reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III drug could lower research barriers for corporations and provide some tax relief."
That said, President Trump does not support marijuana with psychoactive components. He reportedly does not drink alcohol or smoke and has complained about the smell of marijuana. Previously, President Trump's brother Fred Trump Jr. died in his 40s due to alcohol addiction.
In the U.S., there is strong public opposition to the easing of marijuana regulations. It is believed that easing regulations could become a pathway to stronger addictive drugs. The non-profit organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana ran anti-marijuana advertisements on the Fox News program "Fox & Friends." This organization maintains that "corporate profits should not come before drug addiction."