Advocates, opponents react to Justice Department's move to reclassify marijuana

Cannabis changes could be coming across the nation.

On Thursday, the Justice Department formally moved to reclassify marijuana.

Currently it's listed as Schedule I - a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, putting it alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

It will be moved to Schedule III, along with other drugs with medical benefits and moderate potential for dependence like ketamine, steroids and testosterone.

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It's a proposal that local dispensary owners are praising.

"It a step in the right direction at least, just classifying it to schedule three -- cannabis is already de-stigmatizing right now as we are standing in a legal dispensary, so I think that's just going to help even more to de-stigmatize when you think about cannabis," said Banyan Tree dispensary owner, Ace Castillo.

Ace Castillo owns the Banyan Tree in Northeast Fresno.

He says the change would also have other benefits.

Currently, dispensaries can't write off expenses from their taxes like other businesses.

"That puts us in a very high tax burden, so with it now changing, that goes away, and so we can now write off our expenses just like a normal business," said Castillo.

But Flint Anderson, founder of Parents and Addicts In Need, also known as PAIN, is concerned about the message it sends.

"Marijuana definitely affects our dopamine and serotonin; it affects everything in our body, it's bound to affect the younger person," said Anderson.

Anderson adds that pot has long been seen as a "gateway" to harder drugs.

"Because sometimes the marijuana just doesn't do it for a person, so they are going to experiment, they are going to take a step further," said Anderson.

The change would also recognize the medicinal use of cannabis something Dr. Greenthumb and Cookies dispensary owner, Kacey Auston-Tibbetts, is most looking forward to.

"There's such a value into it as a culture and as a community for health reasons; the health benefits of it, by far outweigh any negatives," said Auston-Tibbetts.

Castillo says the marijuana move was a win for his new businesses, as he is just about to have his grand opening on Saturday.

"It was really refreshing to finally have some good news because this industry needs it," said Castillo.

The change does not make recreational marijuana legal on the federal level.

Thursday's proposal still has a months-long feedback period ahead, meaning the rescheduling would not immediately take effect.

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