OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – On Thursday, President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general signed an order to reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug.
The move is set to ease restrictions on licensed medical marijuana, as it will now shift from Schedule I — reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse — to Schedule III.
The Associated Press reports that Thursday’s events mark a major policy shift long sought by advocates who said the government should have never treated cannabis like heroin.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, an advocacy group, reacted on social media following the announcement.
“For years, opponents of medical cannabis have hidden behind the federal classification to justify delay, obstruction, and inaction. They pointed to Schedule I as political cover while patients suffered and families waited. That excuse is now gone.
Attorney General Mike Hilgers, Governor Jim Pillen, Senator Pete Ricketts, and far too many state lawmakers, have spent years attacking medical cannabis, undermining the will of voters, using a dishonest argument that no longer holds up under federal action, medical evidence, or basic common sense.
From this point forward, any continued delay, obstruction, or attack on medical cannabis is exactly what it is: a personal and a political choice. A deliberate decision to stand in the way of patients and the will of the voters. If Nebraska officials continue standing in the way, they should at least be honest enough to admit they are doing it because they want to, not because they have to.”
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