USA Today is reporting that the US Justice Department intends to recommend a reclassification of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, allowing it to be lawfully prescribed as medication.1 Schedule I drugs are those deemed highly dangerous, addictive and without medical use.1
Despite the fact that 38 states and Washington DC allow medical marijuana use, the drug has been banned from medical use by the federal government since 1970, USA Today reports.
According to the report, an unnamed source told USA Today that the Justice Department will send the recommendation to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday.
In 2022, President Joe Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a review of how marijuana is classified; and last year HHS recommended it be rescheduled to Schedule III, alongside drugs like Tylenol with codeine and anabolic steroids. The Justice Department did its own analysis and reached the same conclusion, the source said.1
Additional steps are needed before the drug would be legalized for medical use, USA Today says.
Read the full article at www.USAtoday.com
Source: USA Today: Biden administration plans to drastically change federal rules on marijuana. Santucci J, Cuevas E, Collins M. 2024 April 30. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/30/dea-reclassifies-marijuana-reports/72865632007/
