Jon Gettman

Jon B. Gettman (born August 20, 1957) is a marijuana rights activist, a leader of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, and a former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He has a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from George Mason University and is a longtime contributor to High Times magazine. Gettman filed a petition in 1995 to remove cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act that was eventually denied. A second petition was filed in 2002, with the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, that remains under review by the Department of Health and Human Services. Gettman frequently publishes on the marijuana industry and is an associate professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Shenandoah University in Virginia.

Education Gettman received a BA in Anthropology from the Catholic University of America and a MS in Justice, specializing in drug policy, from American University. He holds a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from George Mason University, In addition to his advocacy work, he is an adjunct instructor at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, teaching public administration.

Advocacy Gettman is a marijuana reform activist and head of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis. A former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, he is a longtime contributor to High Times magazine, where he writes the Cannabis Column. As leader of the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, he publishes frequently on the marijuana industry.

Petitions In 1995 Gettman submitted a petition to the Drug Enforcement Administration calling for the rescheduling of cannabis. The petition sought to remove marijuana and its cannabinoids from Schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act on the grounds that the drug lacks the potential for abuse that warrants inclusion there. The DEA must by law forward all petitions which advocate the rescheduling of a drug to the Department of Health and Human Services for further review. By proceeding to do so, the DEA implicitly judged that "sufficient grounds" exist for the rescheduling of cannabis.

In 1999, Gettman speculated that if removed from Schedule I, cannabis could be: Regulated as a Schedule III or IV prescription drug, similarly to ketamine or anabolic steroids; Regulated as a Schedule V over-the-counter substance; or Removed from the Schedules and regulated similarly to alcoholic beverages or tobacco.

However, upon reviewing the HHS evaluation, the DEA concluded in 2001 that adequate evidence did not exist to necessitate the change. to warrant additional review rather than dismissal. In 2004, the DEA referred the petition to the Department of Health and Human Services for a full-scale evaluation where, as of May 2006, it remains.

Studies

Marijuana Production in the United States In 2006 Gettman wrote a special report, entitled "Marijuana Production in the United States, published in the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform. In it, he estimated the monetary value of the marijuana crop and determined marijuana the largest cash crop in the nation, exceeding the combined values of corn and wheat. The study examined the effects of marijuana prohibition from an economic perspective and calculated that prohibition costs taxpayers approximately $42 billion in enforcement costs and foregone tax revenues.