The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is officially moving to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, a less dangerous category than Schedule I in which it is now classified, the Biden administration announced yesterday.
Biden called the development “monumental” in a video posted to social media. “Far too many lives have been upended because of failed approach to marijuana. And I’m committed to righting those wrongs,” Biden said.
Under the re-categorization, marijuana would be moved out of the Schedule I drug category under the Controlled Substances Act – those considered to have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
Under Schedule III are substances with “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” Schedule III drugs include ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone and some substances with a limited amount of codeine.
The DOJ will now publish an official notice that opens a two-month public comment period on the proposal, after which the DOJ’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will assign an administrative law judge to make a final recommendation on rescheduling.
The reclassification – and the first admission by the government that marijuana has medical value – is expected to have a significant impact on research into the potential therapeutic benefits of THC. It is also expected to lead to changes in how marijuana is treated by federal law enforcement agencies.
Despite being a historic shift, the changes will not federally legalize marijuana, which some U.S. lawmakers lamented. While moving cannabis to Schedule III “would mark a significant step forward, it would not resolve the worst harms of the current system,” a group of senators and congressmen wrote in a letter to the DEA last month.
At a press briefing about the rescheduling Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that Biden has pardoned “a record number of federal offenses for simply possessing marijuana,” and that “his actions today further his commitment to reverse longstanding injustices and to right historical wrongs.”
“The reality is while white, Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted and convicted at disproportionately higher rates,” she noted.
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