A conservative political plan for American Cannabis.
A conservative political plan for American Cannabis.
There are 38 states and 4 U.S. territories with medical or hybrid adult use cannabis programs.
Schedule VI is a proposed new schedule designed to preserve their rights to control & regulate marijuana a.k.a. cannabis.
We believe that regardless of the HHS and DEA re-scheduling process moving marijuana to Schedule III or lower, federal regulatory capture on the intrastate commerce of marijuana and marijuana products would break state and local ecosystems while handing the industry to mature apex industries.
State Ecosystem + Local Industry
- Regulating cannabis exclusively at the State or Territorial level would ensure safety standards while protecting existing small business ecosystems
- Removing Cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act only for legal cannabis states & territories would resolve the erroneous application of the 280E tax code
- Access to traditional banking & merchant services as well as American stock exchanges would be normalized with a new rescheduling
- Designating Cannabis as Schedule VI allows universities & research institutes that receive federal funding to legally conduct studies around the medical uses of cannabinoids & terpenes using the existing State & Territorial supply chain
- There is nothing more equitable for over three million patients and an industry that employs over half a million Americans than equal treatment by federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration, and the Securities Exchange Commission
Patient + Consumer
- Schedule VI solves a litany of problems for over three million American medical cannabis patients who cannot utilize Health Savings & Flexible Spending Accounts for their medicine
- Rescheduling to state control allows veterans access to a diverse set of cannabis products to mitigate the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Registered patients who use medical cannabis shall not be subjected to additional federal taxes while maintaining their Second Amendment rights
Schedule VI (6) is a small update to the Controlled Substances Act that includes Safe banking, Fair Taxation, Consumer Protection and Health
DRAFT TEXT: PROPOSED Schedule VI Language
(6) Schedule VI.-
(A) The drug or other substance is listed in Schedule I.
(B) The drug or other substance is subject to some degree of abuse and has a currently accepted medical use in treatment or is restricted for Sale to Adults over the age of 21 in the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
(C) Drugs grown or manufactured for intrastate Commerce shall be regulated exclusively by the States. All United States Codes, Internal Revenue Codes and any federal agency rules shall be applied exclusively using this schedule for licensed producers of the drug in the States and Territories listed in (B). Licensed producers shall be defined according to the statutes or codes of the States and Territories listed in (B).
(D) Drug regulation and restriction is governed by each State or Territory listed individually in (B). If a State or Territory not listed in (B) legalizes the drug or other substance for medical use in treatment or makes it available for Sale only to adults over the age of 21, the agency regulating the drug in that State or Territory can notify the Attorney General that it is to be added to (B). The Attorney General shall add the State or Territory to (B) within ninety days of notification.
About
A nationally recognized, award winning public affairs and government relations professional, Gibson McKay is a pre-eminent political strategist, campaign authority and government relations specialist. McKay has helped defend the Arizona cannabis industry from predatory & punitive legislation since 2017. He is working with some of his clients to develop a framework for Schedule VI that protects medical cannabis patients, adult consumers, & existing cannabis businesses.
McKay is a pragmatist who believes that the delicate cannabis ecosystems designed by the majority of American states are better being federally regulated with a few hundred words instead of hundreds of pages.
The architect of more than 150 successful initiatives, referendums and candidate campaigns at the state, local and national level, McKay achieves results by safely guiding his clients through treacherous political terrain.
Prior to launching Sherpa Public Affairs, he was a founding Director of Veridus, one of Arizona’s most prestigious government relations lobbying firms.
McKay aided Governor J. Fife Symington in establishing the Arizona Department of Gaming, acting as Communications Chief – he was pivotal in establishing Arizona’s Indian gaming compacts.
Shaping his philosophy, McKay cut his teeth working for Arizona’s senior statesman, former United States Senator John McCain. Shuttling between Arizona and Washington, D.C. for most of the ‘90s helped McKay understand the power structure inside the beltway. McKay served Senator McCain’s presidential bid as his “whip” during the Republican National Convention in 2008.
McKay helped lead the charge on the Right to Try legislation signed into law on May 30, 2018 by President Trump.
Right to Try Act
Right to Try opened a path for terminally ill patients who have exhausted their government-approved options and can’t get into a clinical trial to access treatments.
After 41 states had passed Right to Try laws, the signing of the bill in May 2018 was made the law of the land, creating a uniform system for terminal patients seeking access to investigational treatments.