Out of Touch on Marijuana

A recent DEA decision shows the federal government is out of step with public opinion.

 By Lanae Erickson Hatalsky

Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration took a bold step that put them at odds with the vast majority of Americans. They did it by doing nothing at all: rejecting two petitions to "reschedule" marijuana by moving it from one category of illegal drugs to another.

Currently, marijuana is grouped with drugs like heroin and LSD, in a category (Schedule I) reserved for the most dangerous drugs – ones that have a high potential for abuse and no known medical use. The petitions the DEA denied asked it to move marijuana into a category with cocaine, methamphetamines, and OxyContin (Schedule II) – drugs labeled as dangerous and "potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence" but which also have certain medical uses.

The DEA's decision to block this move and defend the status quo was just the latest indication of a tension that has been building and may soon reach its breaking point: The federal government is completely out of step with the rest of the country when it comes to marijuana.

The evolution of public opinion on marijuana legalization has moved so quickly that it is rivaled only by the warming of Americans' views toward LGBT people. In 2000, only 31 percent said marijuana use should be made legal. By 2010, that support was up to 41 percent, and last year Pew found it had risen to 53 percent – a slim majority (other polls show support even higher in 2016). That's a mammoth shift of perception in a 15 year time period.

And while the country may still be wrestling with whether legalization for recreational use is a good idea, there is near unanimity around medical marijuana. Eight in 10 Americans say individuals should be able to legally use marijuana for medical purposes. It turns out there's no culture war there, just common ground.

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This solidifying consensus is driving a massive change in state laws toward medical marijuana. As of this year, we've hit the halfway-point: 25 states plus D.C. now allow marijuana to be used legally for medical purposes. This movement isn't isolated in traditionally blue or liberal states. In fact, the latest to join the list is the perennial swing state of Ohio, where Republican Gov. John Kasich recently signed a medical marijuana bill into law. What's that saying? As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.

That old adage will likely be proven true again this November when it comes to marijuana policy, as at least nine states will have marijuana legalization initiatives on the ballot, a record number for a single election year. Polls are tight in some of the states considering legalization for recreational use, but on medical marijuana, voters aren't torn. In Florida, the biggest of the medical initiatives this year, public polls show between 68 percent and 80 percent support for the measure.

There is little doubt that by the end of the year, the number of states allowing medical use of marijuana will have grown.

Voters across the country may be continuing their evolution on marijuana legalization as a whole, but even those who are still skeptical of recreational use and dispensaries are comfortable on the issue of medical marijuana. That's what makes the DEA's lack of action this month so baffling. It defies the will of a supermajority of Americans, the laws of the states and common sense by continuing to categorize marijuana as equivalent to heroin.

Those who urged rescheduling were simply asking the federal government to take a small step by recognizing what most voters already have: That while marijuana may have risks, it can also relieve symptoms for some who are sick or dying. That's not a big ask, and it's one the DEA should have granted.