Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Nevada has lengthy been a frontrunner in embracing sensible, regulated industries that enhance our financial system whereas guaranteeing public security. From tourism to gaming, we perceive the right way to steadiness enterprise alternatives with accountable oversight. That’s why the federal authorities’s potential transfer to reschedule hashish from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III below the Managed Substances Act is a choice that is smart for Nevada. Not solely is that this one thing I assist as a Nevada Assemblyman, however I stand by this as a retired legislation enforcement officer.
President Donald Trump has already expressed assist for rescheduling hashish. In 2025, it’s time for the federal paperwork to get the job finished. The president has lengthy been a champion of insurance policies that promote enterprise development and private freedom. By transferring forward with rescheduling, the federal authorities would align with the vast majority of People — together with many Republicans — who acknowledge that our present classification of hashish is outdated and counterproductive.
As a former Las Vegas Metropolitan police officer with over 27 years of expertise, I imagine transferring hashish to Schedule III is a commonsense step that may improve analysis, create new enterprise alternatives and permit for higher regulatory oversight — all whereas protecting our communities secure and supporting Nevada’s thriving financial system.
Nevada’s authorized hashish trade has already created 1000’s of jobs and generated thousands and thousands of {dollars} in tax income. However below the present Schedule I classification — placing hashish in the identical class as heroin — companies face extreme banking and tax restrictions. They wrestle with a scarcity of monetary companies, excessive prices because of IRS guidelines, and an overreliance on money transactions that enhance crime dangers.
Rescheduling hashish to Schedule III would eradicate many of those issues. It might enable companies to deduct regular working bills, decreasing monetary pressure and inspiring additional funding. This alteration would appeal to new companies to Nevada, strengthening our standing as a frontrunner on this sector and additional diversifying our financial system.
As a state with a robust medical analysis sector, Nevada stands to learn tremendously from the flexibility to review hashish extra freely. Beneath Schedule I, hashish analysis is closely restricted, limiting our means to completely perceive its medical purposes. Shifting it to Schedule III would open doorways for Nevada’s universities, biotech corporations and well being care professionals to discover new remedies, enhance affected person care and develop progressive therapies. Rescheduling hashish would enable scientists to review its advantages and dangers extra comprehensively, guaranteeing that medical selections are based mostly on sound science.
Opponents of hashish reform typically increase considerations about security and regulation. However let’s be clear: protecting hashish categorized as a Schedule I drug solely makes it more durable to manage successfully. By transferring it to Schedule III, we are able to implement stronger security requirements, enhance product testing, and guarantee higher high quality management.
Nevada has all the time been on the forefront of financial innovation. Rescheduling hashish would enable us to construct on our successes, appeal to extra funding into medical analysis, and guarantee a safer, better-regulated trade. Washington should comply with Trump’s imaginative and prescient to reschedule hashish. This isn’t simply the correct transfer — it’s the sensible transfer for Nevada and America.
Brian Hibbetts is a retired legislation enforcement officer and present Nevada Assemblyman representing the thirteenth District.
