A Las Vegas judge declined to dismiss a lawsuit on Wednesday that aims to stop the state from classifying cannabis as a tightly regulated Schedule I drug.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada filed the lawsuit in April against the Nevada Board of Pharmacy on behalf of plaintiffs Antoine Poole and the Cannabis Equity and Inclusion Community, an organization that helps people get established in the marijuana industry in Nevada.
Athar Haseebullah, the executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said the categorization of cannabis as a Schedule I drug, on the same level as drugs such as heroin and LSD, is a violation of the Nevada Constitution.
“They don’t get to operate outside of the scope of the Nevada Constitution, and this is another example of government overreach,” Haseebullah told reporters following a court hearing on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Schedule II classification, which is considered “less serious,” includes drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, Haseebullah said.
The Board of Pharmacy classifies substances as Schedule 1 drugs if they have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use in the United States. But because voters amended the state constitution in 2000 to allow for medical marijuana, classifying cannabis as a Schedule I drug is unconstitutional, ACLU staff attorney Sadmira Ramic argued Wednesday. [Read More @ The Las Vegas Review-Journal]
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