Bernie Sanders says he'd take marijuana off the federal drug list


On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared that he is in favor of removing marijuana from the list of illegal drugs deemed most dangerous by the federal government.
"Too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana use," Sanders said during a town hall at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. "That's wrong. That has got to change." Marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it is considered to have a high potential for abuse and not accepted for medical treatment. If marijuana is taken off the list, it wouldn't make pot legal across the country, but states would be able to regulate it the same way state and local laws govern alcohol and tobacco sales, The Washington Post reports. In states where marijuana is legal, users would also no longer run the risk of federal prosecution.
Sanders' fellow Democratic presidential candidates have different stances: Hillary Clinton has said she wants to see how legalization works in states like Colorado and Washington before enacting federal changes, and former governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley said he would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug. Last week, the Brookings Institute said that marijuana's scheduling status is "stifling medical research," and the American Medical Association has said the status needs to be "reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Codeword: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank plan
Speed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'