The MORE Act will likely come up in Congress during the Biden administration. It seems to me that if cannabis is legalized on the federal level, then it would no longer be considered an “illegal drug” as far as the background check is concerned. In such a circumstance, do you predict guidelines would have to be changed to address this so that people are not denied for engaging in behaviour that used to be but is no longer, illegal?
Even if the MORE Act does not become law, President Biden could order the DEA to remove it from schedule 1 and it could end up on say schedule 2, 3, 4, or 5. For someone who holds a state-issued medical marijuana card with a prescription from a doctor, it seems to me that the user would no longer be using cannabis illegally any more than someone who takes any other prescribed controlled substance, such as alprazolam or hydrocodone. Given this scenario, am I correct in assuming the application cannot be denied for simply using a legally-prescribed drug? In fact, I cannot say for sure but it seems the Americans with Disabilities Act might even prohibit such discrimination.
My assumption is that if it were to be considered federally legalized people would still have to list it for several years. If it was used illegally prior to the date of legalization it’d likely still have to be listed.
Thor, I refer you to the original post. No one ever said anything about breaking the law. This thread is simply speculating on how probable changes to federal law may change clearance requirements.
The MORE Act was introduced and passed in the House in 2020. It was never brought up for a vote in the Senate because then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not allow a vote on it. With the Democrats now controlling the Senate, that could very well change in the near future, especially considering that the current Vice-President and President of the Senate, Kamala Harris, is/was the lead Senate sponsor of the Act.
And as I stated in the original post, President Biden could remove cannabis from DEA schedule 1 by executive order, thereby making it just as legal as any other drug that requires a precription. This act alone would even grant protection for those who use it for medicinal purposes under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employers would be barred from refusing to hire or terminating an employee who tests positive for THC, except perhaps in certain situations where the employee is in a safety-sensitive position and causes an accident while under the influence (as it is now for those who drink alcohol, like truck drivers and airline pilots).