TOPEKA — President Donald Trump took the first step Thursday to reclassify marijuana, but the move won’t affect Kansans unless the state changes its laws, a law enforcement professional said.
Trump signed an executive order to drop marijuana from a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act to a Schedule III drug.
In 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended the change, indicating marijuana has medical use.
“Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision,” the order said. “Schedule III drugs are classified as having a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a potential for moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence in the event of drug abuse.”
The change doesn’t take immediate effect on the federal level, but it will not affect Kansans unless laws are changed, said Ed Klumpp, a retired Topeka police chief and a lobbyist for the Kansas Peace Officers Association.
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“Under state law, it’s still under Schedule I,” he said. “If this happens and it sticks, then there would need to be some kind of bill run to move it from Schedule I to Schedule III on the state schedule, and then it’s still a controlled substance.”
If marijuana moves to become a Schedule III drug, it could be prescribed through pharmacies for medicinal use, Klumpp said.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation urged Kansans to remember that marijuana is still illegal and that rescheduling it is “not the same as legalization.”
“Marijuana products sold today are highly potent and pose a direct threat to public health,” the news release said. “Rescheduling will allow qualified scientists to conduct reliable research on the long-term impact on the human brain of the use of high-concentration THC products. We believe this will conclusively prove the connection between marijuana use and mental health disorders, especially in children and teens.”
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, was one of 24 Republicans who signed a letter asking Trump not to change marijuana’s classification.
“Rescheduling marijuana to a Schedule III drug will undermine your strong efforts to Make America Great Again and to usher in America’s next economic Golden Age,” the letter said. “The only winners from rescheduling will be bad actors such as Communist China, while Americans will be left paying the bill.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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