Liam Conner
washington — The Justice Department on Thursday officially proposed a new rule that would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, a policy measure that would ease restrictions on cannabis at the federal level if it were ultimately approved.
While the marijuana rescheduling would not make the substance legal or decriminalize it nationwide, changing the classification from its current Schedule I to Schedule III status would put the drug on regulatory parity with other substances such as ketamine and anabolic steroids.
The Drug Enforcement Administration currently classifies marijuana as a substance that “has no currently accepted medical use and has a high potential for abuse.” The proposed rule would change the DEA’s treatment of the drug to one that has “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”
The proposal begins a months-long administrative and comment period, meaning the rescheduling would not take effect immediately. After 60 days, authorities will make a final decision before the rule is officially published.
In 2022, President Biden asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice to examine the DEA’s classification of marijuana. According to a Justice Department memo published last month, HHS “concluded, after reviewing several studies, that there was some credible scientific support that marijuana could be used effectively” in certain medical situations.
“No professional medical organization currently recommends the use of marijuana,” the memo said, adding that “it is recommended against its use.” Dozens of states now allow the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.
The notice of proposed rulemaking sent to the Federal Register on Tuesday said the attorney general “agrees with the HHS recommendation, for purposes of initiating these rulemaking proceedings, that marijuana has a lower potential for abuse than drugs or other substances in lists I and II.”
Biden called the move “monumental” in a video posted Tuesday and noted that marijuana policy has been a priority for his administration.
Last year, the president decided to pardon thousands of Americans convicted at the federal level for simple possession of cannabis and urged governors to do the same. Advocates for policy change, including Biden, said marijuana scheduling has unduly affected minority populations and resulted in harsh prison sentences for mere possession.
News of the proposed rescheduling broke in late April, after Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DEA submitted the rule to government officials for review. Critics of the move — including several former DEA officials who spoke to CBS News — said at the time that the administration was making a mistake because of the risks posed by the drug’s side effects. And the new rule, they said, would be a gateway to more dangerous substances.
Pat Milton contributed to this report.
