2024-04-30 20:17:00
Strengthening Biden among young voters
US justice wants to downgrade the danger of marijuana
April 30, 2024, 10:17 p.m
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In the United States, marijuana ranks in a danger category with heroin and LSD. According to insiders, the Ministry of Justice plans to downgrade the drug. The idea: President Biden might recommend this to younger voters.
According to sources, the US government is working on a plan to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. This would be a historic move that might make buying and selling marijuana much easier and make the multi-billion dollar industry more profitable. Justice Department officials plan to submit a proposal to the White House for consideration that would remove marijuana from the government’s most restrictive drug classification, people familiar with the matter said. Marijuana has been listed as a Schedule I drug since 1970, along with LSD and heroin.
A proposal might only be published in a few weeks. However, it is unclear whether the incumbent Biden administration will still try to ease the restrictions. A reclassification would have to go through the government’s approval process, which might take months. The US presidential election takes place in November. According to insiders, Joe Biden’s confidants are betting that such a move might strengthen the president’s reputation among younger voters, who have particularly supported the liberalization of marijuana policy.
Remains illegal under federal law
More than half of US states have legalized marijuana in some form in the past decade, and many Democrats and some Republicans have taken a more tolerant stance toward marijuana use. But the government still puts it in a category for drugs that have a high potential for abuse and for which medical use is not accepted.
Even if marijuana were no longer classified as a Schedule I drug, it would remain illegal under federal law without further changes by Congress. The Justice Department can still prosecute marijuana offenders, although Washington has largely stayed away from states that have legalized marijuana.
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