How dangerous is marijuana? N.J.’s top cop wants to hear from you
John Munson/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
State and federal law declared marijuana as dangerous as LSD and heroin nearly 50 years ago.
But a recent state court decision said it’s time New Jersey revisit that decision, as the acceptance of cannabis as medicine rapidly grows.
And New Jersey’s top cop wants to hear from you on this subject.
Later this month, the state Attorney General’s Office will host four public hearings seeking input as to whether marijuana should remain a “schedule 1” drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medicinal value.
Scrapping this designation for pot would not lead to legalizing or decriminalizing the drug’s use, according to a statement from Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s office. But it could reduce the severity of criminal penalties, or other ways it is regulated.
The hearings are a direct result of a state Appellate Court ruling in October that concluded the Division of Consumer Affairs had the authority to re-classify marijuana from the “schedule 1” category of the most harmful of drugs.
“Medical benefits from the use of marijuana not known in 1971, when the Controlled Dangerous Substance Act became effective…and impediments to its lawful use as a result of its Schedule 1 classification, are abundant and glaringly apparent now,” according to the opinion by Judge Michael Guadagno.