Local reaction to potential marijuana reclassification

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — One day after the federal government announced the possibility of reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule 3 controlled substance, people in the Cape Fear are reacting with some positive support for the move.

Currently, marijuana is a Schedule 1 controlled substance, the same category as substances like heroin, LSD, and methamphetamines.

Drugs that are given a Schedule 1 classification are seen as having a high potential to be abused and no accepted medical use.

The reclassification would allow the health effects of marijuana to be researched and studied more easily.

Onslow County resident Davis Lewis said it should be studied more easily.

“I work blue collar, so its like at the end of the day, I’m hurting,” Lewis said. “Muscles are sore, I do hard work. And I smoke a little bit of the pot and it’s like, the body’s relaxed, I can actually lay down and not be in pain. It’s, it’s, it really does help.”

A reclassification of marijuana would put it on the same level as substances like Tylenol, steroids, and testosterone, but it will still be several months before that can happen.