Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday that federal health officials had delivered "a scheduling recommendation for marijuana" to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Senate Democrats confirmed that HHS's advice was to ease up. President Biden had asked HHS to review marijuana's legal classification last October, at the same time he pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of "simple possession" of the drug.
Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, like heroin and LSD. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said HHS urged the DEA to make it a Schedule III drug, the same tier as ketamine and some anabolic steroids. "HHS has done the right thing," Schumer said. "DEA should now follow through on this important step to greatly reduce the harm caused by draconian marijuana laws." The DEA's review of the proposed policy change could take months.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why is the world so divided over plastics?Today's Big Question UN negotiations on first global plastic treaty are at stake, as fossil fuel companies, petrostates and plastic industry work to resist a legal cap on production
-
Temple Mount: the politics of Judaism's holiest siteThe Explainer Latest provocation at religious site with a history of 'perpetual friction' risks violence erupting again
-
Ssh! Secret gardens to visit this summerThe Week Recommends These leafy havens are the perfect place to escape the crowds
-
Why the FDA wants to restrict kratom-related productsIn the Spotlight The compound is currently sold across the United States
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
