{"id":2235291,"date":"2024-05-02T08:37:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T12:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-rescheduling-marijuana-means-for-washington-states-cannabis-industry\/"},"modified":"2024-05-02T08:41:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T12:41:04","slug":"what-rescheduling-marijuana-means-for-washington-states-cannabis-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-rescheduling-marijuana-means-for-washington-states-cannabis-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact of Marijuana Rescheduling on Washington State&#8217;s Cannabis Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhat-rescheduling-marijuana-means-for-washington-states-cannabis-industry%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2235291&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Biden administration&#8217;s proposal to \u200dreclassify marijuana \u200cfrom\u2063 Schedule I to Schedule \u2062III has broad implications\u200b for Washington state&#8217;s cannabis industry. Washington, a trailblazer \u2064in marijuana legislation, may benefit from this \u200bchange as it recognizes \u2064the medical use of cannabis\u2063 while maintaining restrictions on recreational use. The move could positively impact patients, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvanias-right-wing-push-for-latino-voters\/\" title=\"Pennsylvania's Effort to Appeal to Latino Voters on the Right\">enhance economic opportunities<\/a>, \u200band influence\u200c tax \u200bpolicies for \u2063cannabis \u200dbusinesses.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 The Biden administration\u2019s move to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk substance has broad implications for the cannabis industry at large, including in Washington state, a pioneer in the legal cannabis industry.<\/p>\n<p>On Dec. 6, 2012, Washington became the first state in the nation to legalize recreational use of marijuana and the first to allow recreational marijuana sales, alongside Colorado. Washington had previously legalized medical marijuana in 1998.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the Justice Department confirmed that the Drug Enforcement Agency, agreeing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/national\/article_6454afc4-0735-11ef-892a-6f741442bd77.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>proposing to move<\/strong><\/a> marijuana from Schedule I status to Schedule III status under the Controlled Substances Act.  <\/p>\n<p>Schedule I status means the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blunt-how-is-biden-going-to-buy-500-million-covid-tests-when-stores-cant-get-them\/\" title=\"Blunt: How Is Biden Going to Buy 500 Million COVID Tests When Stores Can't Get Them?\">federal government thinks<\/a> there is no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs include heroin and LSD. Federal law prohibits the cultivation and possession of Schedule I drugs, except for approved research studies.<\/p>\n<p>Marijuana has been a Schedule I drug since 1970.<\/p>\n<p>Schedule III substances are considered to have medical use and moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Prescription drugs such as anabolic steroids, ketamine and testosterone are in the Schedule III category.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department\u2019s proposal means the federal government would recognize the medical use of cannabis, but wouldn\u2019t legalize it for recreational use.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Pickus, media relations head at the Washington CannaBusiness Association, an organization representing Washington\u2019s licensed and regulated cannabis and hemp business, applauded the federal government\u2019s expected change in marijuana classification.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an important incremental step that will one day improve the lives of patients and better support economic opportunity for those working and investing in Washington\u2019s safe, quality-controlled and regulated cannabis marketplace,\u201d he said in an email to The Center Square.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/mjbizdaily.com\/state-by-state-review-of-adult-use-marijuana-sales-2023\/#:~:text=Washington%20state&#038;text=Another%20similarity%20with%20markets%20such,the%20same%20period%20in%202022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Marijuana Business Daily<\/strong><\/a>, Washington\u2019s marijuana market has cooled a little recently but is still robust.<\/p>\n<p>The Evergreen State sold about $1.13 billion in adult-use marijuana through November 2023, down just slightly from the $1.18 billion it sold during the same period in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Pickus pointed out that moving marijuana to Schedule III has major tax policy implications for state-legal cannabis businesses. If reclassification is ultimately implemented, marijuana businesses can officially take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-to-propose-global-minimum-corporate-tax-to-keep-companies-from-moving-overseas-after-biden-tax-hike\/\" title=\"Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen To Propose \u2018Global Minimum Corporate Tax\u2019 To Keep Companies From Moving Overseas After Biden Tax Hike\">federal tax deductions<\/a> that they\u2019ve been barred from under an Internal Revenue Service code known as 280E.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis decision also begins the process to resolve the issue of 280E, a longstanding challenge for legal businesses who were blocked from making normal tax deductions on their federal returns,\u201d Pickus explained.<\/p>\n<p>However, he pointed out that the federal government still needs to address the fact that many financial institutions don\u2019t want anything to do with money from the marijuana industry for fear it could expose them to legal trouble from the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe call on lawmakers to advance additional opportunities to support a safe, viable legal marketplace that keeps products out of the hands of kids by adopting the SAFER Banking Act, removing Washington\u2019s ban on access to capital for local businesses and further aligning the regulations governing the legal cannabis industry with the same expectations that workers and business owners in any other legal industry are afforded,\u201d Pickus said.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/senate-bill\/2860\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulations, or SAFER, Banking Act<\/strong><\/a> would allow banks to provide services to the cannabis industry in those states where it\u2019s now legal.<\/p>\n<p>Conventional wisdom is that marijuana businesses in Washington and other states are susceptible to and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_ff044bc4-afb7-11ec-94b0-8f3412ac0724.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>targeted by criminals<\/strong><\/a> because they are largely all-cash enterprises.<\/p>\n<p>Another ongoing challenge faced by the marijuana industry in Washington is the growing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_454a0874-b580-11ee-a130-639c8a443c5b.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>potency<\/strong><\/a> of cannabis products.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biden administration&#8217;s reclassification of marijuana to a lower-risk substance has significant implications for Washington state&#8217;s pioneering cannabis industry. Since December 6, 2012, when Washington legalized recreational marijuana use, the state has been a trailblazer in the legal cannabis sector, making the impact of this rescheduling particularly noteworthy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2235292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP19149783677036.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2235291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP19149783677036.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2235291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2235292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2235291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2235291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2235291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}