The recommendation is the result of a yearlong review initiated by the president.
Cannabis is currently a Schedule I substance on the CSA, which means it is deemed to have a high likelihood of abuse and no medical uses. | Hans Pennink/AP PhotoThe Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services is recommending that the Drug Enforcement Agency significantly loosen federal restrictions on marijuana but stopped short of advising that it should be entirely removed from the Controlled Substances Act.
The health agency wants the drug moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA, potentially the biggest change in federal drug policy in decades., that the recommendation was based on a review conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.“As part of this process, HHS conducted a scientific and medical evaluation for consideration by DEA. DEA has the final authority to schedule or reschedule a drug under the Controlled Substances Act,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement.
Federal law has failed to keep up with massive changes over the last decade in state cannabis policies. Twenty three states now allow anyone at least 21 years old to legally posses the drug, while 38 states have established medical marijuana programs.“We believe that rescheduling to Schedule III will mark the most significant federal cannabis reform in modern history,” said Edward Conklin, executive director of the US Cannabis Council, an advocacy and trade group.
At the time, advocates and some lawmakers urged Biden to take clear steps to remove cannabis completely from the CSA — versus rescheduling it. Legalization advocates on Wednesday reiterated that rescheduling would not solve many of the problem they’ve been asking the Biden administration to correct. “Rescheduling cannabis from 1 to 3 does not end criminalization, it just rebrands it. People will still be subject to criminal penalties for mere possession, regardless of their legal status in a state-level medical program,” cannabis advocate Justin Strekal told POLITICO on Wednesday.
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