Christians Will Be Able To Use Medical Marijuana After Trump ‘Inevitably’ Reschedules It, Former DOJ Official Says In New Religious Analysis

A former U.S. Justice Department official argues that the use of medical marijuana by Christians may be biblically justified if cannabis is federally rescheduled, saying in a new paper that “the federal government will inevitably” enact the reform.

But consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes would remain “inconsistent” with biblical principles even after rescheduling, he said.

The paper in the journal Indiana Health Law Review, titled “Christian Faith and Marijuana Use After Federal Rescheduling,” offers an analysis of how a proposed rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would comport with religious doctrine on the use of certain drugs.

It states that “after rescheduling and consistent with biblical principles, people will presumably be able to use it therapeutically just as they use other intoxicants for their legitimate medicinal needs.”

That’s not necessarily the case, however. A reclassification of marijuana to Schedule III would not federally legalize the plant. While other Schedule III drugs such as Xanax can be prescribed by doctors, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would need to approve cannabis as a medicine in order for it to be prescribed—and most experts agree there’s a slim chance of that given the agency’s reluctance to approve botanical medications.

“The general public probably does not realize that marijuana possession remains a federal crime, even in states that have substantially decriminalized its manufacture, distribution, and use,” the paper from Melvin Otey of Faulkner University says. “For law-abiding persons, marijuana’s status as a Schedule I controlled substance means it cannot be consumed medicinally or recreationally.”

“However, there are strong indications that federal authorities will eventually reschedule the hallucinogen,” Otey, who served as a trial attorney in DOJ’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section from 2000 to 2003 and in the Organized Crime and Gang Section from 2007 to 2014, wrote.

He clarified that, in his view, “even after rescheduling, law-abiding people will not be free to use the drug recreationally because it will remain a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act.”

“Moreover, recreational use would be inconsistent with several biblical principles,” it says.

“If California’s laws proscribing marijuana were once typical, then perhaps it logically follows that the state’s deregulation was a harbinger of things to come,” the former DOJ official said.

He also said that “classical economic theory” lends to the idea that, following legalization, there tend to be “lower prices and easier access, factors that ultimately beget increased consumption.”

Despite the study author’s analysis, other research has shown that religious people are significantly less likely to support legalizing marijuana compared to those who identify as atheists and other religiously unaffiliated groups.

As far as rescheduling is concerned, President Donald Trump endorsed the reform on the campaign trail ahead of his second term. And he said more recently that a decision on the proposal is imminent, without giving a clear indication of his current position.

As Trump continues to weigh the rescheduling proposal, a Democratic congresswoman said this month there’s been more discussion among lawmakers about cannabis reform recently–adding that she’ll “continue to push for” other modest policy changes such as industry banking access.