A recent study done by AmericanMarijuana found that Americans believe Marijuana is the “safest” party drug. The survey’s main focus was on people’s perceptions of DEA Drug Scheduling. Currently, Cannabis is still labeled as a Schedule 1 drug along with Heroin and LSD. Many argue neither Cannabis nor LSD should be in the same category as Heroin. They surveyed almost 1,000 people to see how they would schedule a list of drugs.
If you are unfamiliar, all drugs are categorized into five schedules. 1 being the worst, and basically stating the drug has no medical use and a high potential for abuse. 5 contains the “safest” drugs and the least potential for abuse. Only 37% of survey participants correctly identified cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug. After polling the demographics of the survey population, it was time to assess where they believe all the drugs line up on certain categories.
Cannabis was rated the highest for potential medical use. It was rated the lowest for causing physical dependence. According to respondents, Ketamine and Anabolic Steroids have more potential of being abused than LSD and Cannabis. Americans also believe Xanax, Valium, and Ambien have more cause for psychological dependence than LSD. It seems more and more Americans are coming around to recreational drugs. To no surprise, Heroin was ranked the worst substance, followed by Cocaine and Methamphetamine.
With Americans now believing Cannabis as the “safest” party drug, the participants rescheduled the drug schedule. 84% percent of people believed Cannabis should be classified to a lower Schedule, while 38% believed it should be entirely removed from the purview of the CSA. The new drug schedule put Cannabis in Schedule 3.
It is a pretty interesting study to read through if you have the chance.
