BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) — President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
The order does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law. But it does change the way it’s regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I — reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III.
Henry Crisler, director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, said the move could pave the way for expanded research. He added that the rescheduling is also a formal recognition that cannabis is medicine and that programs like Mississippi’s are working.
“It’s providing relief to over 68,000 active Mississippians here in our state and millions of patients in medical programs across the country,” Crisler said.
Crisler said the move could be a first step toward federal medical marijuana sales, though he added that the country is a long way from a federal medical cannabis program.
“It is a recognition that Mississippi’s state-run program and other state-run programs across the country are legitimate and are effective,” he said.
Crisler also said the shift will likely eliminate restrictions on businesses, a move expected to reduce costs for patients in state-run programs.
“One of the major implications of being a Schedule I drug is the implication of 280E tax restrictions on the federal level, which basically prevent any cannabis business from making normal business deductions,” Crisler said. “So by removing 280E, we think eventually, as business costs go down, that will result in lower costs for patients at dispensaries.”
Mississippi currently has over 68,000 active patients in the medical marijuana program.
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