Brian Vicente, founding partner of influential Colorado law firm Vicente LLP, calls the suddenfederal move to move medical cannabis to Schedule III“the biggest thing to happen in federal cannabis policy in decades.”

In thisCannabis Business TimesIn the interview, Vicente breaks down three immediate consequences:

● potential section 280E tax relief for medical cannabis operators

● new DEA registration process for healthcare businesses

● and an expedited administrative hearing that could open the door to broader adult-use reform.

Vicente and his firm have worked on legalization policy in Colorado for decades and helped draft memos on the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the international drug treaty that is at the heart of the Justice Department’s recent action.

He says state medical cannabis programs have been instrumental in providing federal officials with a basis for recognizing existing controls. He also sees major unsolved questions for states with hybrid medical and adult-use licenses, such as California, Maryland and Oregon, where businesses may need to determine how much of their operations qualifies as medical.

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Nearly two decades after individual states began allowing the medical use of cannabis, many licensed dispensaries still can’t accept credit or debit cards because payment systems don’t accept them as customers.

They also have trouble getting loans from traditional banks, where cannabis companies are seen as high-risk customers.

Since the Controlled Substances Act was signed into law in 1970, federal regulators have grouped hemp together with some of thethe most forbidden drugsin America, such as heroin and LSD.

This classification, known as Schedule I, is reserved for drugs that the government believes offer no medical benefit and have a high risk of addiction. It is a federal crime to manufacture, buy, sell, or possess a Schedule I controlled drug without a special permit.

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