MAY 2025 | 35 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.13 This is a follow-up to a recommendation by President Biden in October 2022 that the scheduling for cannabis be reviewed. For this change to be made, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must make findings and recommendations to the DEA, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The DEA and the DOJ, utilizing scientific and medical data on the efficacy of cannabis, must make findings that the evidence supports and fits into the defining criteria for the appropriate schedule, and then the change is made.14 The expected rescheduling of cannabis did not occur before President Biden left office. Instead, there is much speculation about what will occur under the second Trump administration. President Trump has recently spoken out in favor of cannabis rescheduling, but newly appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi has previously opposed medical cannabis legalization and has supported smoking bans.15 The rescheduling of cannabis not only carries significant legal implications for those who use it but also significant financial implications for businesses across the country. Once it is rescheduled, Internal Revenue Code 280E, which significantly limits the ability of businesses to deduct otherwise legitimate business expenses, will no longer act as a barrier to entry into the market of legal cannabis enterprises unless a special tax is imposed.16 Additionally, once cannabis is legalized at the national level, this local trade will be legal internationally. Leading cannabis law firms believe that rescheduling will actually put the U.S. in a better position to comply with its international treaty obligations.17 Scheduling determinations are based upon a drug’s associated risk for abuse along with its potential medical use and benefits, overall knowledge of the drug, risk to public health, potential for alteration or modification to increase associated risk and trend in drug usage.18 A Schedule III drug has a “potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II;” “has a currently accepted
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