ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – The Trump administration is reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the order on Thursday. The order does not legalize marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law and in North Carolina.
Retired Marine Robert Bandy said he hopes to see that change because it would help him and other veterans.
“I think it should be legal. It serves a lot of good purposes. A lot of veterans take it for PTSD or to help them sleep at night, so I think it’s a good thing,” Bandy said.
Schedule I classification is meant for drugs without medical use and with a high possibility for abuse. Schedule III drugs are not as strictly regulated.
Mary Beth Germann, an Air Force veteran and nurse who is a member of VFW Post 9133, said she has seen people have success with medical marijuana.
“I do support it. I have seen people through my life who are using it and have really good success for pain and anxiety,” Germann said.
Germann is from New York, where marijuana is legal. She said she believes that is how it should be across the country.
“I don’t see anything where it’s really hurt anyone or changed anything in New York, so I think it’s a good thing and should be legal across the country,” Germann said.
A late-June federal hearing involving the Drug Enforcement Administration and Justice Department will start the process to consider reclassifying marijuana more broadly under federal law.
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