Michigan Legislation Aims to Remove Cannabis as Schedule I Drug

Michiganders voted to legalized adult-use cannabis in the November 2018 election, but the plant remains scheduled alongside controlled substances like LSD, ecstasy and heroin under state law.

Aiming to address repercussions associated with that designation, House Bill 5877 would remove cannabis from the state’s list of Schedule I drugs. Substances on that list have a high potential for abuse and have no currently accepted medical use in treatment, as defined by Michigan law.

While many state residents who purchase and use medical or adult-use cannabis under Michigan’s state-legal program are not impacted by the designation, House Democratic Floor Leader Yousef Rabhi, who sponsors H.B. 5877, said continuing to classify cannabis as a Schedule I drug does have broad implications, MLive.com reported.

Those who use or possess Schedule I drugs could face consequences related to employment, guardianship, criminal punishment and housing, such job or tenant applications that include policies that prohibit substances on the list, Rabhi told the news outlet.

“And then there are things like Child Protective Services,” Rabhi said. “People who have been legal cannabis users, even medical users, it has been used in our CPS laws, because [they] reference our schedule of substances.”

Rabhi currently has eight Democratic colleagues signed on for sponsorship. He’s hoping to gain support from across the aisle, he told MLive.