The United States Department of Justice will recommend to the White House Office of Management and Budget that marijuana be considered a less dangerous drug, causing it to move from the schedule I list, where it has remained since 1971, to category III which includes certain codeine-based medications, says a source who requested anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak on the subject publicly.
The United States Government will classify marijuana as a drug with the same level of risk as prescription drugs such as anabolic steroids, according to US media reports this Tuesday.
The newspaper The Washington Post and the television networks MSN, CNN y NBC They cited White House officials on the historic decision as their source of information.
To date, marijuana is considered among highly addictive substances with no medical value, such as heroin, methamphetamines and the lysergic acid LSD.
“The administration will take a historic step toward relaxing federal cannabis restrictions and plans to soon announce an interim rule reclassifying the drug for the first time in more than 50 years,” the Washington Post said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is expected to approve an opinion from the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be moved from a stricter category to a less strict one.
Once the OMB (U.S. Office of Management and Budget) approves the proposal, the DEA will accept public comments on the plan to remove marijuana from its current classification to move it to schedule III, following receiving a recommendation from the Service Federal Health and Human Services. The next step will be a review by an administrative law judge. After the corresponding authorizations, the DEA may publish the final determination.
With a reclassification of marijuana, the drug can be studied and researched to identify possible medical benefits, as well as allow pharmaceutical companies to participate in the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
“This will mark the first time that the United States Government would recognize the potential medical benefits (of marijuana) and begin to study them firmly,” added the American newspaper.
Read also: What are endocannabinoids, the THC-like substance in marijuana that we humans produce (and what effect they have on our body)
For its part, MSN clarified that the measure will not instantly legalize marijuana at the federal level, but it might expand access to the drug for medicinal uses and would strengthen the marijuana industry in states where its consumption is permitted.
“The measure would also provide a political benefit for President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election and has sought to improve racial and criminal justice inequalities caused by the country’s long and failed war on drugs,” the television station commented.
A total of 24 US states, plus the District of Columbia, where the capital, Washington, is located, have already legalized marijuana, and another 14 allow exclusively medicinal use, according to the Pew Research institute.
This institute estimated in February that 74% of Americans live in a state where the substance is legalized for recreational or medicinal use.
President Joe Biden has taken a series of measures at the federal level to pardon the sentences of people convicted of simple possession of marijuana, thus lifting the obstacles they might have in accessing employment or housing.
“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed unnecessary barriers to employment, housing and educational opportunities,” Biden said in December 2023.
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