INDIANA — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug
The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.
Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids, following a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department. After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule.
It comes after President Joe Biden called for a review of federal marijuana law in October 2022 and moved to pardon thousands of Americans convicted federally of simple possession of the drug. He has also called on governors and local leaders to take similar steps to erase marijuana convictions.
“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” President Biden said in December. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”
Still, some Hoosiers who closely follow cannabis issues say this federal move could spur Indiana lawmakers to join its neighboring states and legalize marijuana.
