The problem with Biden’s soft stance on cannabis

When Joe Biden directed a review into the classification of cannabis two years ago, no one – not the stoners nor the industry – expected a volte face from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the agency with the last word on the drug’s status. It has, after all, rejected countless attempts in the past.

But late last month, the DEA revealed that it would reclassify the drug from Schedule I to a Schedule III. Not only does this shift acknowledge that cannabis is safer than heroin, but that it also has some medicinal function with a low level for physical and psychological dependency. 

For the cannabis industry this amendment is seen as a big victory. It needed a break, too. It’s no secret that the legal, state-regulated weed sector has been struggling for years to stay afloat, in a constant battle to compete with the ferocity of the black market, forced to pay upwards of 70 per cent tax to the taxman, while adhering to strict regulatory controls.