What does federal cannabis rescheduling mean for New Mexico?
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – At the federal level, the rules around cannabis could soon be changing. So, what does that mean for New Mexico?
The Associated Press recently broke the news that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency could reclassify cannabis at the federal level. For years, marijuana has been listed as a “Schedule I” drug at the federal level, meaning there is no approved medical use for the drug. But that could change.
Cookies dispensary accused of violating New Mexico Cannabis Regulation Act at opening celebration
“The feds are now saying it’s not what they call ‘Schedule I,’ meaning they’re not treating it like heroin, for example, anymore. They’re going to treat it like a ‘Schedule III,’ which is something you would get for pain management, for example,” says Pat Davis, the president of Weeds, a New Mexico cannabis consulting firm.
“What it means, long term, is that it’s opening the door for the federal government and the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] to start doing research on legitimate medical uses for cannabis and creating cannabis-based products,” Davis adds.
Ben Lewinger, Executive Director of the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, had mix reaction to the news.
“It finally gives cannabis the validation that it is a substance that has a medical benefit and it’s a substance that doesn’t have a high risk of abuse which is what schedule one drugs are,” he said. “I think it doesn’t go far enough…it’s out of alignment with what most Americans want. They want acananbis to be regulated mores imilar to alcohol or tobacco.”
He also has some concerns about cannabis joining the ranks of pharmaceuticals.
“I think that there’s going to be a lot of new…fees, a lot of new costs, associated with DEA and FDA regulating cannabis from federal perspective that could counteract any potential savings from 280-E.”
New Mexico already has a medical cannabis program. And Davis says the federal rule change likely won’t affect how the state runs its program. Davis said it could create big opportunities for New Mexico cannabis businesses to get involved in the pharmaceutical market.
Protest breaks out at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building
New Mexico’s cannabis program “was built looking ahead for when this might happen,” Davis explains. “And some of our companies in New Mexico are making some innovative products that might look very attractive to big pharma.”
The rule change would essentially remove a massive roadblock that has prevented large pharmaceutical companies from getting involved in cannabis-based drug research. So, the rule change could boost business opportunities for New Mexico growers and producers that have the know-how to expand into the medical field.
“It creates a route, suddenly, to normalize and move cannabis potentially between different states . . . and when Governor Lujan Grisham helped us set up New Mexico’s legal cannabis program here, she asked legislators to include provisions that allow us to have interstate commerce with other states if the feds ever changed the rules,” Davis says. “It means that New Mexico companies could start working with California or Texas companies in the federally regulated marketplace.”
“It opens up New Mexico’s billion-dollar cannabis industry to the rest of the nation and vice versa,” Davis says. “Long term, some New Mexicans are going to make a lot of money figuring out how to navigate a new federal system.”
The changes won’t happen overnight. Davis expects the federal government will take public input before changing rules. But after those changes do go into effect and pharmaceutical companies develop cannabis-based medicine, accessing that cannabis-based medicine might be as simple as getting a prescription drug.
Eventually, the eased classification could bring more cannabis-based drugs to the market, ones tested and approved by federal regulators. But that availability is still “years down the road,” Davis says.
And under the latest rule change, marijuana would still be illegal as a recreational drug, at least at the federal level. “In New Mexico, you can buy your cannabis and smoke it here in-state, and I don’t think that’s going to change much,” Davis says. “If you go through a [federal] checkpoint, the federal government is still going to take your cannabis if you bought it in Las Cruces and you’re taking it to Albuquerque.”
