- Video shows MSU Assistant Professor and Pediatrician, Dr. Brittany Tayler, discussing impacts of Marijuana use on an adolescent brain
- Marijuana currently falls under what is called a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no currently accepted medical use, and a high potential for abuse. But, in recent months, talks of reclassifying the drug as a Schedule III substance are in the works.
- “I think it might give a false narrative that because we are lowering the classifications that Cannabis is totally great to use," explained Dr. Tayler.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your MSU neighborhood reporter, Lauren Lendzion.
Studies tell us that Marijuana usage is pretty common on college campuses like this, and now, the federal government is taking steps to classify it as a less dangerous drug. But should they?
I talked to one expert here on campus to find out more.
"I'm happy about this, but I'm also hesitant," said Assistant Professor at MSU in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, Internist, and Pediatrician, Dr. Brittany Tayler.
Let's break it down.
Marijuana currently falls under what is called a Schedule I drug, meaning by law, it currently has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
But, in recent months, talks within the federal government of reclassifying the drug as a Schedule III substance are in the works, "Schedule III means that it would open up that potential. It lowers what the DEA deems as the risk for addiction as well as saying that there is some potential therapeutic effects of it," explained Dr. Tayler.
And MSU Assistant Professor and licensed Pediatrician, Dr. Brittany Tayler, says the reclassification poses a potential risk of a skewed public perception of the substance itself, "I think it might give a false narrative that because we are lowering the classifications that Cannabis is totally great to use," stated Dr. Tayler.
"My perspectives have always been pretty lenient with it. Like, I never really viewed it in a bad light. I've kind of grown up around it," said one MSU student.
But, Dr. Tayler says while the reclassification of Marijuana may mean less potential for addiction, it doesn't take away the impacts it has on the body, specifically on a developing brain, "Long-term planning, complex decision making, emotional regulation," asserted Dr. Tayler.
Along with the impacts on the development of emotional intelligence, Dr. Tayler also says younger users have more of a vulnerability to addiction, "Because that part of the brain is still developing, can make the use of certain substances very appealing and the brain will eventually equate it to long-term happiness, and things like that," said Dr. Tayler.
As of now, a formal rule-making process has begun considering moving Marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
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