What would it take to reclassify a schedule 1 substance as something else?

Write to your congressman. Lobby your point. Pay off the right people.

I suppose one avenue to pursue would be to make extensive studies that research the effect of cannibus on people. If a large enough number of studies could prove that the potential benefits outweigh the negatives, it would be similar to most legal, pharmaceutical drugs.

Join National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and give them the financial support they need.

Petition the Drug Enforcement Administration, and encourage everyone you know to do the same

Refer to the wikipedia article about this and provide the information to as many people as you possibly can.

I support this method of changing the law.

It takes an Act of Congress, at this point, to reschedule cannabis.
D.E.A. Administrative Law Judge Francis Young ruled that cannabis is relatively harmless and should be rescheduled. The Bush-appointed Drug Czar at the time, Bill Bennett, refused to reschedule the drug, and instead made it even harder for scientists to research cannabis.

NORML has sued the DEA for years to get this rescheduled, and that is what resulted in Law Judge Francis Young’s decision. But since Bill Bennett was acting with power-of-the-President at the time (in other words Bush delegated his powers to Bennett), he decided to completely ignore all science, and even the rulings of his very own Administrative Law Judge.

As a side note, the fact our government considers methamphetamine to be Schedule 3, and Marijuana is Schedule 1 (being the most restricted with the “least” medical uses)... it just proves our federal government is psychopathic, and not to be obeyed, trusted, or honored. Generally speaking. I’m talking about the federal bureacracy, which is mostly Republicans. But this bad situation wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for much Democrat help from the likes of scum such as Joe Biden, John Edwards, and Joe Lieberman, who are all just Republicans-at-heart when it comes to insane, illogical, Unconstitutional federal crime laws.

@Kraigmo “The Bush-appointed Drug Czar at the time, Bill Bennett, refused to reschedule the drug”—that’s central to my point. If the Drug Czar is needed in the process of rescheduling the drug, and is by law forbidden to consider legalizing anything that is Schedule I, isn’t that an endless loop?

@YARNLADY Would petitioning the DEA really have an effect? Their job is to enforce the law, not to deal with drug policy, right? Much the same as a policeman may not agree with a law, but must enforce it nonetheless? The Wikipedia article you linked to is very helpful.

To everyone else who might read this, please make an informed decision on the matter. Saying “it’s illegal, so it must be bad” is a dangerously ignorant choice to make.

@cwicseolfor yes it’s an endless loop, and it’s evil and straight out of Alice-in-Wonderland, and embraced by Obama, and even moreso, Bush. And the types who get behind these people. Especially the ones behind Bush.

And here’s another endless loop: These hypocrite “Family Men” Moralizing Right Wing nuts, who are always favoring the Drug War, etc, they love to say trite little sayings that take no thought, such as: “If you don’t like the laws, don’t break them… Change them.”

They say that line with such self-assurance, its pathetic.

Then as soon as ANYONE tries to change the law, the DEA then steps in with its federal money and lobbies Congress, local police, local councilmen, and anyone else who will meet with them, and they lobby against the legalization of marijuana. Despite this crooked uphill battle, the truth (the legalization advocates) is still gaining ground every year.

It shoulda happened 20 years ago though, but it’s going slowly due to the crooked way in which the federal government, the Security-State corporate apparatus, and the Right wing Judao-Christian types are conducting themselves.

@Kraigmo To choose breaking the law as the first/best course is a mistake. Most people who choose that path do it because they are not really concerned with obeying the law at all, and it’s much easier to just break laws that are wrong rather than work to change them for the better of all.

@YARNLADY well I think I mostly agree with you. But I think if one is breaking the law, while at the same time changing the law, and if he’s harming no one, then he’s doing the right thing for himself and the human community.

@Kraigmo Because of the outrageous penalties for breaking the “pot” laws, anyone who chooses to ignore the law is taking a very dangerous, unnecessary chance.

I think the CSA (controlled substance act) is completely warped and unconstitutional. This is a bad answer. Sorry :p

It would really take the united states attorney general to reschedule the drug for one year. Otherwise, it would take an act of congress, or a finding of the federal courts that the act is unconstitutional. however, in the case of the csa there are a long line of cases that have sustained congresses power in enacting the csa under article 1 section 8 clause 2 (aka the commerce clause) of the constitution.