(NEXSTAR) — It’s been nearly two years since the Department of Health and Human Services recommended the Drug Enforcement Administration reschedule marijuana in the U.S.
That process has, however, stalled after the proceedings were put on pause in January. Despite the pause, some hoped the then-incoming administration could get the ball rolling again after President Donald Trump expressed support for marijuana legalization on the campaign trail.
Less than 100 days into Trump’s term, that hasn’t happened. Efforts throughout the country to legalize marijuana, however, haven’t slowed down.
Here’s what to know.
Will marijuana be rescheduled?
Marijuana may still be rescheduled from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug. The process has historically played out over years and even decades, Paul Armentano, the deputy director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), told Nexstar.
In 1972, NORML petitioned the DEA — then the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs — to make cannabis a Schedule II drug. It wasn’t until 1988 that a DEA law judge issued an opinion, which recommended cannabis be rescheduled. Two years later, the DEA rejected the decision. Following rounds of litigation, the petition ultimately died in 1994, more than two decades after it had been filed.
There have been other attempts since, all taking roughly four to eight years to be resolved, Armentano said. That makes the current delay “not surprising at all,” he added.
What could get the case going again is Trump, Heather Trela, director of operations and fellow at the Rockefeller Institute. Trela’s research is focused primarily on marijuana policy.
“If President Trump made this a priority, I think this would move,” she explained, noting, however, that this does not appear to be one of his biggest priorities early in his administration.
Armentano and Trela pointed to those Trump has appointed to lead key agencies don’t have much of an appetite for taking up marijuana issues.
What’s the future of marijuana legalization, rescheduling?
“I would have told you 25, 30 years ago that you would never have a situation where 39 states have legalized the use of medical marijuana and 24 states have legalized adult use of marijuana, in flagrant contradiction of federal law,” Armentano said.
He pointed to a similar situation in the U.S.’s history: Prohibition. As Armentano explained, amid an “unpopular” federal policy, states began defying the ban on alcohol. Ultimately, the federal government turned the decision over to the states while stepping in regarding aspects like taxation, advertising, and interstate commerce.
A bill introduced in the House on Thursday could do just that, Lauren Daly, interim executive director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Nexstar. The bipartisan STATES 2.0 Act would “end the federal prohibition of cannabis and allow states to determine their own cannabis policies.”
“With 24 states that have already enacted adult-use legalization laws, it’s long past time for Congress to move forward with federal cannabis reform,” Daly said.
A national move to legalize marijuana may be further down the road, Trela suggested, depending on “what else is going on in politics.”
“If we’re facing other issues that are bigger and more immediate, I think some of this legalization is going to be pushed more to the side,” she explained.
Other bills introduced in Congress thus far have called for the prohibition of tax deductions or credits for marijuana businesses to continue, regardless of whether it is rescheduled. No actions have been taken on those pieces of legislation.
Where do state legalization efforts stand?
More than three dozen states have legalized some form of medical marijuana already. Nearly half have legalized it for recreational use among adults. This has all happened since 2010, marking “a fairly amazing political achievement” for such a short period of time, according to Armentano, reflecting an increasingly positive opinion on cannabis.
Four states had marijuana-related legislation on the ballot in November. In addition to Florida, voters in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska had a marijuana-related question on the ballot. Only Nebraska saw the measures pass.
“I would say success [for marijuana legalization] has slowed, but efforts have not slowed down,” Trela said. NORML is tracking over 120 pieces of state level marijuana-related legislation, Armentano noted.
Meanwhile, some states that have already legalized marijuana are seeing efforts to roll back voter-approved laws or repeal them. That includes Ohio, where some have been trying to rewrite the recreational marijuana law voters approved two years ago.
Other states are making adjustments to aspects of the law, like lowering legal potency levels, Trela said. In some cases, like Virginia, lawmakers have been unable to pass a sales bill, so while possessing cannabis is legal, there is nowhere in the state to legally purchase it.
“We’re contending with a perception that many have that legalization is inevitable, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” Daly said.
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