Continuing the efforts from his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, President Donald Trump called for rescheduling marijuana to a Schedule III drug, which will remove a variety of regulatory and investment hurdles, to expand marijuana usage in the United States.
“While this action does not resolve every regulatory hurdle, it meaningfully advances the conversation around potential further federal reforms and represents a significant step forward for more than 400,000 American cannabis workers,” wrote Dan Ahrens, a portfolio manager of the Advisor Shares Pure US Cannabis ETF. “A move away from Schedule I has the potential to reshape taxation, research access, and capital formation for U.S. cannabis companies, which is why this landmark announcement represents an important step for both operators and investors.”
‘Medical Use’
Trump’s December 18th executive order (EO) focused on the definitions of the “schedules” under the Controlled Substances Act.
“Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision,” stated the EO. “Schedule III drugs are classified as having a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a potential for moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence in the event of drug abuse.”
The EO states a determination by the Department of Health and Human Services found “medical marijuana has a currently accepted medical use.”
Getting High
Trump is getting bad policy advice because THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, has no medical use beyond recreation and its intoxication effects, says John Dale Dunn, M.D., J.D., who encountered substance abuse as an emergency room physician, and later worked as a medical officer in the Brown County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department.
“Nobody can tell of a real medicinal effect of THC other than the benefit of intoxication,” said Dunn. “Bartenders are doctors of medicine, too, in a way. So, we ignore the downside risks of legalizing or loosening controls on THC, and for what, to add another intoxicant that is known to be a gateway drug to worse and more harmful drugs, and certainly can screw up behaviors and promote what is well known to create shiftless dopers?
Dunn says THC is deposited and released from the fat in the body, so it can stay in someone’s system for days.
“To be a regular smoker or eater of THC is a life-changing thing,” said Dunn. “To be intoxicated certainly reduces stress and anxiety along with the desire to act like an adult–would you want to have a doper as your baby or dog sitter, the guy in the cockpit or on the road driving 10 ton load, how bout captain of a vessel in a harbor or the neurosurgeon about to open your head, the anesthesiologist about to put you close to deaths door with anesthesia and sedation to allow the heart surgeon to crack your chest?”
Pitfalls for Employers
The anticipated benefits of expanding marijuana access did not materialize, says Linda Gorman, the director of health care policy at The Independence Institute in Colorado, the first state in 2012 to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
“We know that legalizing it likely led to more use, and there was still a black market for marijuana given the stringent tax and regulatory regime,” said Gorman. “Taxing it never filled the budget holes, and it turned out the drug was not as safe as advertised. The other thing that never materialized was a public health campaign detailing the harms from using marijuana.”
Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to complete the rulemaking process to reschedule marijuana to a Schedule III drug. Gorman says the rule should address the concerns of “at will” employers who have policies against marijuana use.
“With new scheduling, should it be all right to hire and fire at will? asks Gorman.
In 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Dish Network was within its rights to fire Brandon Coats,a quadriplegic customer service representative, because his use of marijuana outside of working hours violated federal law.
Marijuana and Violence
Trump’s EO came days after police arrested Nick Reiner for the murders of his parents, Michele and Hollywood director Rob Reiner. Nick talked publicly about his drug addiction, including the use of marijuana, of which he said on the “Dopey” podcast he used “as a preventative measure” to stop himself from using harder drugs.
“We know that users of marijuana are at risk for bad judgment, lack of mental alertness, and that heavy users are at risk for REEFER (DOPER) MADNESS — psychiatric breaks from normal thinking, unpredictable, sometimes dangerous and violent behavior,” said Dunn.
Other high-profile murder defendants with reported marijuana habits include Bryan Kohberger, “Robin” Westman, Aaron Hernandez, and Shane Tamura.
Personality Disorders
Personality-disordered people are inclined to be drug abusers, and then the drug amplifies their pathology, says Dunn.
“The personality disorders are described as separate pathological behaviors, but actually they have a lot of overlap, particularly in the Group B disorders–anti-social (psychopath) narcissist, borderline, histrionic,” said Dunn.
“Personality disorders are actually a social behavioral pathology that is much more prevalent than the psych people would estimate,” said Dunn. “Personality disordered people are not inclined to see psych people, they think they are fine, and the people around them are the problem. The violent ones, in many cases, including Nick Reiner, are narcissists who develop narcissistic rage.’
AI Overview describes narcissistic rage as an “intense anger, disproportionate outburst of anger and hostility triggered by a perceived threat or injury to a narcissist’s fragile self-esteem.”
AnneMarie Schieber ([email protected]) is the managing editor of Health Care News.
AnneMarie Schieber is a research fellow at The Heartland Institute and managing editor of Health Care News, Heartland’s monthly newspaper for health care reform.
