President Trump has signed an executive order changing Marijuana’s federal classification. The drug moves from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug.
Attorney General Marty Jackley attended a conference call with the White House and other Attorneys General on the news. Jackley said the White House iterated that the executive order was done to further research the medical value of marijuana.
“Traditionally my opinion has been if you’re going to look for medical research, you have to reschedule it,” Jackley said in an interview Dec. 17. “And so certainly there are various schedules. I’ve voiced that Schedule II should be something that we look at.”
Jackley said the primary reason behind that is the potency of the drug that’s been seen in recent years.
He called the medical research is important, and this opens that door.
“Which we need to do. And we struggled with that as a state implementing the medical marijuana. And we struggle with it every session because of the chemistry changing with these synthetics,” Jackley said. “So, a large part of the federal discussion will be too, whether it’s Congress or through Executive Order, how are you going to define these various chemicals, and where are you going to place them on the legality scale and the medical value scale?”
Jackley said the rescheduling means nothing about the legality of marijuana federally or in the state. His office issued a statement on the reclassification to clarify some misconceptions: "It is important to recognize that the federal rescheduling of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug does not criminally legalize marijuana under federal law. Also, current federal law also does not permit a licensed physician to prescribe marijuana until marijuana receives FDA approval. Marijuana use and possession is also illegal under South Dakota state law for recreational use, and permissible only for medical purposes with a valid prescription, a medical card, and from a licensed medical marijuana facility."
