WASHINGTON — The US anti-drug agency will take steps to reclassify the marihuana as a “less dangerous drug,” a historic change that could have consequences across the country.
The DEA proposal, which has yet to be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medicinal use of cannabis and the fact that it is less susceptible to abuse than other narcotics. However, it would stop short of directly legalizing its recreational use.
The measure, confirmed by five sources who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, eliminates the last remaining regulatory obstacle for the agency to implement its largest policy change in more than 50 years.
Once approved by the budget office, the DEA will accept public comments on the possibility of removing marijuana from schedule I — where heroin and LSD are found — to move it to schedule III — where ketamine and some steroids are found. anabolic drugs—after receiving a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services. Following the public comment period and review by an administrative law judge, the agency will publish the final determination.
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The move comes after President Joe Biden called for a review of federal marijuana laws in October 2022 and moved to pardon thousands of citizens imprisoned for simple possession of the drug. Biden has also asked state and local leaders to take similar steps to overturn convictions for marijuana possession.
“Criminal records for marijuana possession and use have imposed unnecessary barriers to employment, housing and educational opportunities,” Biden said in December. “Too many lives have been turned upside down because of our failed attitude toward marijuana. It is time to correct those mistakes.”
Biden and a growing number of lawmakers from both parties are pushing the DEA to make this decision as marijuana has been decriminalized and become more acceptable, particularly among young people. A Gallup poll last fall found that 70% of American adults support legalizing marijuana, the highest percentage ever recorded by the pollster and more than double the 30% who said the same in 2000.
Source: AP
