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Marijuana


DEA FINALLY EXPECTED TO RECLASSIFY MARIJUANA


THE CHANGE FROM SCHEDULE I TO SCHEDULE III IS WELCOME, BUT REMOVING IT FROM THE
SCHEDULES ALTOGETHER IS THE BEST OPTION.

Joe Lancaster | 4.30.2024 3:34 PM

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(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Newscom)

The federal government is finally expected to change the way it regulates
marijuana, such that the drug would no longer be completely forbidden. The
change is welcome, but it does not go far enough.

"The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a
less dangerous drug," the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The proposal
"would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less
potential for abuse than some of the nation's most dangerous drugs. However, it
would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use."

The policy would signal a welcome shift from decades of prohibitionist drug
policy. Since 1970, the federal government has regulated marijuana under
Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, intended for drugs with "a high
potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical use in treatment." Other
Schedule I substances include heroin and peyote.

That description has always been ridiculous when applied to marijuana, but
especially in recent years, as more than two-thirds of U.S. states, plus three
territories and the District of Columbia, now allow marijuana for medical
use—not to mention that 24 states, two territories, and D.C. further allow
recreational use.

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The proposed reclassification stems from President Joe Biden's October 2022
announcement calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary Xavier
Becerra of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to "initiate the
administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under
federal law."

In August 2023, HHS delivered its recommendation: Marijuana should be
reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule III. According to the DEA, Schedule III
drugs have "a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological
dependence" and can be prescribed by a doctor. Examples include ketamine,
Tylenol with codeine, and anabolic steroids. Marijuana would not be completely
legalized, though: Schedule III substances are still subject to regulation on
their sale and use.

Even now, if the DEA decides to reschedule marijuana, nothing will change right
away: The proposal "still must be reviewed by the White House Office of
Management and Budget," the A.P. notes, after which "the DEA will take public
comment on the plan…. After the public comment period,…the agency would publish
the final rule."

Marijuana prohibition is an antiquated notion, and its end is long overdue.
Nearly 90 percent of Americans now think marijuana should be legal in some
capacity, according to a Gallup poll conducted earlier this year, with 57
percent favoring full legalization and another 32 percent preferring that it be
legal only for medical use.

Even the government's excuses for keeping cannabis illegal have never stood up
to scrutiny. When HHS decided to recommend reclassification last year, it
effectively reversed itself and contradicted its own long-held position on the
topic; the DEA has previously declined to reschedule marijuana five times. As
Reason's Jacob Sullum wrote in January, "The [HHS] reversal shows that
marijuana's classification has always been a political question rather than a
legal or scientific matter."

"It is significant for these federal agencies, and the DEA and [Food and Drug
Administration] in particular, to acknowledge publicly for the first time what
many patients and advocates have known for decades: that cannabis is a safe and
effective therapeutic agent for tens of millions of Americans," said Deputy
Director Paul Armentano of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws (NORML) in an emailed statement. But that's not far enough, Armentano
argues: "Just as it is intellectually dishonest and impractical to categorize
cannabis in the same placement as heroin, it is equally disingenuous and
unfeasible to treat cannabis in the same manner as anabolic steroids and
ketamine."



Rescheduling marijuana so that people can use it without fear of being put in
prison is a welcome first step. But the best solution would be for Congress to
simply decriminalize it altogether.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and
trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

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NEXT: Illinois Won't Let Him Do His Job Filing Paperwork—Unless He Gets a
Private Detective License

Joe Lancaster is an assistant editor at Reason.

MarijuanaWar on DrugsDrug LegalizationDrug
PolicyDrugsDecriminalizationFDADEADepartment of Health and Human Services
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