Senators seek to legalize medical marijuana at the federal level

Medical marijuana

Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) plan to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would legalize medical marijuana at the federal level.

The legislation would nix Washington's ban on medical pot while reclassifying the drug from a Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 substance under federal guidelines, according to The Washington Post. As a Schedule 1 drug, marijuana ranks alongside LSD and peyote as substances with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." Downgrading its classification would put marijuana in line with cocaine and methamphetamine.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.