Wellness Unmasked Weekly Rundown: Trump Drug Policy Explained: Marijuana Schedule III & Fentanyl as a WMD

Dr. Nicole Saphier breaks down two consequential health policy decisions by President Trump reshaping America’s drug debate. She examines the reclassification of medical marijuana to Schedule III—acknowledging its medical use while warning about risks to youth—and the unprecedented move to label fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction amid the escalating opioid crisis. From a conservative, evidence-based perspective, Dr. Saphier explores public health, national security, law enforcement, and compassionate care, offering clear insight into how science, policy, and public safety intersect in America’s evolving drug policies.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Wellness on Mass. I'm doctor Nicol Sapphire and
this is your weekly rundown where we're going to go
through a couple of big topics for the week. President
Trump made two major announcements that deserve serious attention, not
political spin, not sound bites, but real discussion. First, the
administration announced plans to downgrade medical marijuana from a Schedule
one like heroin, to a Schedule three like tilenol with coding.

(00:27):
So from a medical standpoint, this is a significant shift.
Schedule one drugs are defined as having no accepted medical
use and a high potential for abuse. That category has
long included marijuana alongside, like I said, heroin, which frankly
never aligned with clinical reality. Moving marijuana to a Schedule
three acknowledges what many physicians already recognize. There may be

(00:51):
legitimate medical applications, particularly for chemotherapy related nausea, certain chronic
pain conditions, and appetite simulation in severe illness. But let
me be clear, this is not a declaration that marijuana
is harmless. Absolutely not. We are seeing increasing evidence linking
heavy marijuana use, especially in adolescents and young adults, to

(01:13):
impaired cognition worsened anxiety and depression psychoses, especially in vulnerable individuals,
and long term effects on brain development. As a physician,
I support evidence based medicine, not cultural trends or profit
driven narratives. Now, medical access must be paired with clear guardrails,
rigorous research, and honest public education, especially when it comes

(01:35):
to protecting our kids. Now, the second announcement may be
even more consequential. President Trump has formally declared fentanyl a
weapon of mass destruction. Yeah sounds crazy, but it kind
of makes sense. That language is strong, but it should be.
Ventanyl is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths every
single year. It is potent, cheap, easy to transport, and

(01:58):
devastatingly lethal. Dose the size of a few grains of
salt can kill an adult. This is not just a
drug crisis. It is a national security crisis. Labeling ventanyl
as a weapon of mass destruction reframes how we fight it.
It elevates the response beyond public health alone to include
border security, international trafficking networks, and coordinating law enforcement action

(02:22):
from the emergency room to the ICU. I've seen what
ventanyl can do. It's not just to people, but to families.
And entire communities. These are not isolated overdoses. This is
a mass casualty exposure playing out quietly every day across America.
We cannot treat this like business as usual. Compassion and

(02:42):
treatment matter, but so does accountability. We need aggressive disruption
of supply chains, serious consequences for traffickers, and prevention strategies
that actually work. President Trump is working on all this now.
I'll tell you We're going to talk next week with
an addiction specialist physician about how our reb centers are broken.
So while President Trump is working on decreasing the supply,

(03:04):
there's still a lot of work to be done locally,
on a state level, on a federal level. So the
work doesn't stop here. So these two announcements on marijuana
and fentanyl highlight a broader truth. Health policy doesn't exist
in a vacuum. It sits at the intersection of medicine,
culture and national security, and if we're serious about making

(03:24):
America healthier, we have to be honest about all of it.
Thanks so much for listening to Wellness unmasks. This has
been your weekly update. I'm doctor Nicole Sapphire. Make sure
to tune in to Wellness Unmasks with doctor Nicole Sapphire
on iHeartRadio wherever you get your podcasts, and we'll see
you next time.