BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
WATCH: Biden administration moving to reclassify marijuana in a historic shift
Marijuana is currently considered a "Schedule I" drug which means it has no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Other drugs in that category include heroin and LSD.
The DEA reportedly wants to reclassify it as a "Schedule III" drug, which is described as "a drug with low to moderate potential for abuse and/or addiction, but less dangerous than Schedule I or II." Drugs in that category include suboxone and ketamine.
Once the DEA makes the recommendation, it will take months to take effect after a public comment period.
7 News' Pheben Kassahun gave a voice to a local medical director at a neurological institute, a representative for a political organization that opposes marijuana legalization and commercialization and a cannabis manufacturer, about how this possible change will impact them.
Cannabis use for medical purposes was legalized in New York State in 2016.
Since then, DENT Neurologic Institute chief medical officer Laszlo Mechtler, MD and a team have developed a cannabis clinic where they see more than 13,000 patients who are being treated with medical cannabis for the treatment of medical disorders.
Mechtler said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug is groundbreaking and will help researchers like himself.
"How it affects sleep, how it affects anxiety, how it affects pain, how it affects chemo-related nausea. In general, it has so much benefit," said Mechtler. "We, at this point, don't have concrete randomized studies looking at the benefit of this plant."
Luke Niforatos is the executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM).
SAM is a marijuana policy organization that is working on a marijuana policy from a public health perspective.
The organization opposes the commercialization of marijuana and legalization but supports more research into its medical benefits and decriminalization of low-level possession.
He said he is disappointed with this decision by the Biden administration and calls it "anti-science."
"It keeps marijuana illegal at the federal level, which from our organization's perspective is good. However, what it does do is give the big marijuana industry which has now taken on investment from tobacco and alcohol the opportunity to write off their business expenses as a tax deduction. This means hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for this marijuana industry," Niforatos told Kassahun.
For manufacturer operators like Sean Connors, who is the vice president of Bison Botanics, he is calling this a historic move but says it is too soon to tell how this will impact cannabis manufacturers and dispensaries.
"We're hoping that this also opens up the door for more financial freedom when it comes to cannabis or more financial options," said Connors. "We're limited to the banking options that we have like lending options."
