Federal authorities are set to reclassify marijuana and acknowledge its medical benefits, a seismic shift in the nation’s drug policy, according to multiple reports.
The Drug Enforcement Administration will propose the significant change, though it would not legalize recreational weed nationwide, sources told The Associated Press.
The DEA proposal would drop marijuana from a Schedule I drug — where it currently sits alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy — to a Schedule III drug. Schedule III drugs currently include ketamine and several anabolic steroids. The change would acknowledge that marijuana is less addictive than other substances.
Final decision will rest with the White House Office of Management and Budget. The DEA’s proposal follows a recommendation from the Health and Human Services Department.
For the past decade, numerous states have legalized recreational marijuana, and the federal government has made little attempt to stop them. The movement began in 2014 with Colorado and Washington, and recreational weed is now legal in 24 states, with medical marijuana permitted in 14 others.
With News Wire Services
