Before any discussion on marijuana, medicinal or otherwise, one has to begin with the federal government’s classification — marijuana is a Schedule I substance.
This means that the U.S. government through the Controlled Substances Act has defined marijuana as a drug with no currently accepted medical use, the highest potential for abuse, the potential for severe psychological or physical dependence, and one of the most dangerous drugs of all the schedules. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Thus under federal law it is a crime to open, rent or maintain a place of business for purposes of manufacturing, distributing or dispensing marijuana. The caveat for the remainder of this piece is that “legalization” is in reference to only state law.
