NORFOLK, Va. — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is considering a recommendation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reclassify marijuana from a schedule I to a schedule III drug.
This would not make marijuana legal at the federal or state level but could have a big impact in the Commonwealth.
“This is an industry that’s tens of billions of dollars on the state-legal cannabis side," said Columbia Care Senior VP of Corporate Affairs Adam Goer.
Columbia Care operates 10 medical marijuana dispensaries in Virginia, including one in Suffolk that opened in August.
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Goer said the reclassification could have a big impact in Virginia.
“We service tens and tens of thousands of Virginians, many of whom are suffering from debilitating life conditions," Goer explained.
Currently, a schedule 1 drug is one that has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Drugs like Heroin, LSD, and ecstasy are in that group with marijuana. Drugs like cocaine and fentanyl fall into schedule II.
The reclassification would change the way marijuana businesses are taxed, which supporters say could help businesses lower prices, perhaps making the products affordable for more people.
Supporters also say the reclassification would open up new research and banking opportunities.
“It will now possibly open up the ability for these individuals in these businesses to now do businesses with banks," said News 3 Political Expert Dr. Eric Claville.
According to The Motley Fool, a fully operational recreational marijuana market in Virginia is estimated to generate almost $140 million a year in excise tax revenue, suggesting the businesses could have a lot of money to be taxed.
That means they could have a lot of money they could use, for example, to get loans from banks.
“The financial impact would be monumental as it relates to interest that would be charged to banks," Dr. Claville said.
As of September 2023, marijuana could only be sold in Virginia for medicinal use but anyone 21 and older could possess and use up to an ounce and could grow up to four marijuana plants.
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The DEA does have the final say in reclassifying or not reclassifying a drug but has never overruled a recommendation by the Department of Health and Human Services.
