For the last 54 years, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug: a category that carries drastic criminal penalties and also includes hard drugs like heroin. But the Biden administration has the power to change that as scientists at the FDA are now recommending it be reclassified in a much less severe category. But Jonathan wonders, would descheduling marijuana be enough to solve all of the issues caused by the War on Drugs? Drug policy activist and attorney Shaleen Title joins Jonathan to answer that very question, and to explain some of the risks and rewards of federal marijuana legalization.

Shaleen Title is an attorney and longtime drug policy activist who has been writing, passing, and implementing equitable cannabis laws for over 20 years. She is a former top regulator for the state of Massachusetts, where she served as commissioner of the Cannabis Control Commission from 2017 to 2020. Currently, her primary focus is running the nonprofit think tank Parabola Center, which pushes for cannabis policies to protect people rather than corporate profits.

You can follow Shaleen on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/shaleentitle/">Instagram</a> @shaleentitle. You can find Parabola Center on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/parabolacenter/">Instagram</a> @parabolacenter and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@parabolacenter">TikTok</a> @parabolacenter. You can find Parabola Center’s latest paper <a href="https://www.parabolacenter.com/img/interstate.pdf">here</a>.

Follow us on <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.instagram.com/curiouswithjvn/?hl=en__;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!JwPuFyNVrHjVLZ00zG_p-g5BwqcJBeKiKpH_gBGieMmeu6cBBxoQbp_bZ4kieAp4$">Instagram</a> @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.instagram.com/jvn/__;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!JwPuFyNVrHjVLZ00zG_p-g5BwqcJBeKiKpH_gBGieMmeu6cBBxoQbp_bZzmGcX02$">Instagram</a> @JVN.

Transcripts for each episode are available at <a href="https://www.jonathanvanness.com/gettingcurious">JonathanVanNess.com</a>.

Find books from Getting Curious guests at <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn">bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn</a>.

Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our associate producer is Allison Weiss. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.

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GETTING CURIOUS | Can Marijuana Legalization Save Us All?

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness